To Move the Stars
by Stellatrix13
Summary: When Jenna accidentally transports herself into the world of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, she finds that she is now as much a part of the story as the Pevensies, Aslan, and all of the other characters. All she wants is to get back home, but everyone comes to Narnia for a reason. ((also inspired by Ink trilogy by Cornelia Funke)) **New chapters whenever I can**
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I claim ownership of nothing except my original character Jenna. Everything else belongs to their rightful owners.**

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The pages of my copy of _The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe_ showed how much love I had given it. The corners were smooth from being thumbed countless times, those on the first pages of chapters showing creases from dog-earing when a bookmark wasn't on hand. The paperback book had been through a lot, but as long as I could still read the ink, I didn't care how scratched or stained the cover and pages were.

I skimmed a few pages in the first chapter, resisting the temptation to lose myself in the story for the thousandth time. I noted a few details about setting and then turned the book over, leaving it open so that I could reference it again if necessary. I tore out a page from my notebook and started writing, scratching out the first few lines I wrote, and the next, and the ones after that before I was satisfied with my start.

My English class had been given a creative writing assignment over spring break. We were supposed to take a few scenes from our favorite book and write ourselves into the story and imagine what we would do and how it would affect the other characters and the plot.

The Chronicles of Narnia had been my favorite books ever since I first read them when I was a little girl, _The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe_ in particular. I daydreamed about journeying through Narnia with the Pevensies, meeting Aslan, and exploring the magical world. It was the first book I reached for when I was having a bad day, or when I was having a good one, or really any kind of day.

I worked for a bit, scratching out words here, adding in a phrase there, and then put my pen down, looking over what I had written. Our teacher liked to tell us to read our writing aloud, whether it was an essay or a poem, to help us catch problems. I touched my pendant to reassure myself, and then began to read:

"She sat up in bed, looking out the window of her room on the second floor of Professor Kirke's great manor. Her gaze focused on the gravel driveway where it crested the hill of the yard."

I frowned and changed a word before picking up the paper again.

"What are you doing?"

I looked up to see my mother standing at the door to my room.

"Reading my English homework."

"Out loud?"

I nodded. "I have my tourmaline, Mom, just like I always do. Don't worry."

I held up the prism of black tourmaline that hung from the silver chain around my neck. Mom stepped forward and examined the crystal for a minute before turning back around.

"Good. Don't take it off, Jenna."

"I know, Mom." I rolled my eyes as she left me alone again.

I opened my mouth to start reading again, but then an idea struck me. I checked that my mom really had gone back to the kitchen where she was making dinner, and then closed the door to my room. I lifted my necklace over my head and placed the chunk of tourmaline next to _The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe_.

I hadn't tried reading out loud without the pendant for a few years. The tourmaline had been charmed by a local Wiccan shopkeeper to block my "gift" as she had called it. When I was five, I was just starting to read full books and actually understand them. One of my favorites was a tiny picture book about a fat cat named Matt. I'd been reading to Mom about how Matt sat around all day when all of a sudden I felt something nudge my leg. I looked down to see a chubby orange tabby looking up at me.

"Look, Mom! It's Matt the fat cat!"

Mom bought the tourmaline pendant the next day. She made me promise to never read aloud without it. Every now and then, though, I would read a short paragraph just to see if I could still bring the words to life, literally. And each time I would end up with a new flower, or a butterfly flitting around my room, or a storm brewing outside my window.

I had never tried reading something that I had written myself, though. I didn't know if my power worked with any writing or only writing that had been formally published. I figured this was the perfect opportunity to test that theory.

"She sat up in bed, looking out the window of her room on the second floor of Professor Kirke's great manor. Her gaze focused on the gravel driveway where it crossed over the hill of the yard. Mrs. Macready was due back from the train station any minute now with Jenna's new roommates. Jenna didn't know anything about them except that there were four of them - two boys and two girls - and that they had also been sent to the manor to escape the Nazi bombings of London. She had arrived at the professor's manor only a week before after her home town had been bombed twice in one week."

I felt something tug at my stomach and I dimly recognized the sensation of my power starting to work. I could feel it being drawn to the tourmaline on my desk, too, so I took the rock and threw it on my bed on the other side of the room, taking care to not hit Matt the fat cat where he was sleeping on my pillow. I felt the tugging sensation grow stronger and I continued reading.

"Jenna was nervous about meeting the new refugees, so she had feigned sickness that morning and gotten out of meeting them for at least that day. Mrs. Macready hadn't been happy when she had to bring Jenna breakfast in bed before heading out to the train station. Mrs. Macready was all about rules and schedules and keeping things just so.

"Jenna's room was one of the smaller guest rooms, with just enough room for a bed, a small wardrobe, a chest, and a night stand with a lamp on it. It still featured the beautiful architecture present throughout the house, though, with open rafters and darker beams along the walls. The window also provided a view of the manor's magnificent front lawn that was manicured every Thursday by a landscaper."

The tugging was affecting my whole body now and as I took a breath to keep reading the wind was suddenly knocked out of me with one huge yank on my core. I heard Matt yowl before the sound disappeared into an intense ringing. I dropped the paper and covered my ears even though the logical part of my brain told me it wouldn't help. I felt myself being tugged again and blackness crept up on my vision. I was lightheaded now and felt like I was going to faint any moment. It felt like I was in the middle of a tornado, the winds ripping at my very being.

Then everything stopped.

The ringing was replaced with the pounding of blood in my ears. The darkness in my vision was just from having my eyes closed tight. The air around me was still and I felt grounded again, no tugging at all.

I stayed like that, hands over my ears, eyes closed, for a few more moments, until my heart had slowed to its normal rhythm. Then I slowly opened my eyes, and my hands flew from my ears to my mouth as I gasped.

My desk and chair had disappeared. I was sitting on a bed now, the mattress giving slightly under me. In front of me was a window that allowed me to see a pristine green lawn with several trees overshadowing it all. A wide track of gravel wove its way across the lawn from where it appeared at the top of a hill to the building I was now in.

I slowly reached out toward the window and I realized my hand was shaking. My fingers pressed on the glass and I could feel the warmth underneath my fingertips where the sunlight had warmed the panes.

This was real.

I twisted around to take in the rest of my surroundings. The room was small, but the ceilings were high, with exposed rafters made of dark wooden beams. A chest sat at the foot of the bed, with a slender wardrobe in the corner. A nightstand stood next to the bed with an antique lamp and a little analog clock sitting on top.

A sound from outside drew my attention back to the window. A white horse was trotting over the top of the hill, its hooves crunching on the gravel. A carriage followed behind it, and a woman sitting on the bench in the front was lightly snapping the whip at the horse. Her small cries of "Come on!" carried to my window. As the horse pulled the carriage downhill I was able to see four people sitting in the back. Four small figures that looked like two boys and two girls.

The reality of where I was - or rather, the new reality - crashed down on me.

 _What have I done?_

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 **AN: Here is my second fan fiction! This time we're going to Narnia! I've got one planned for each movie that has been released (and possibly more!). Even though Jenna uses the book to enter the Pevensies' world, these stories will be based on the movies. They're just easier for me to reference and visualize and describe.  
This chapter really just serves as a set-up for the _real_ story. You'll have to wait until next week for that, though, so make sure to hit that follow button! ;)  
** **New chapters for this will be posted every Tuesday. Thanks for reading, everyone!**


	2. Chapter 2

"This has to be a dream," I told myself. I rubbed my eyes and blinked forcefully several times, but the room stayed the way it was. I pinched myself all along my arms but that only brought tears to my eyes, although they had already been building up. I quickly wiped them away. No way was I turning into a crybaby.

I crawled out of the bed and only then did I notice that my clothes had changed, too. I was wearing a floor-length nightgown with a frilly bottom and frilly sleeves now instead of a t-shirt and jeans. I crossed to the wardrobe and threw open the doors to see practical sweaters and collared shirts, several skirts, and a few simple dresses.

Not a single pair of pants in sight.

"Really?" I sighed.

I pulled on a gray pleated skirt that stopped just below my knees and a thin blue sweater. I turned to close the wardrobe doors when I noticed my reflection in the mirror hanging on the inside of one of them. I examined myself in these new clothes and decided they weren't that ugly. Less was more seemed to be the fashion.

I spotted the loafers at the bottom of the wardrobe but decided to stick with bare feet. I wanted to be as quiet as possible and if that woman was who I thought she was, then I doubted there was anything in this house that I would be able to stick my foot on.

I cautiously opened the door to the bedroom - my bedroom - just a crack and peeked out into the hall. Nobody in sight. I slipped out and headed down the hall to where I could see stairs around the corner. Again, I peeked around to check that the coast was clear before tiptoeing down a few of the steps to the next corner.

"There are a few rules we need to follow."

The stern voice carried up from the room below me at the end of the stairs and I froze.

The woman spoke sharply. "There will be no shouting, or running. No improper use of the dumbwaiter. No-!"

The sudden shout made me jump and almost lose my balance on the steps.

"-touching of the historical artifacts!"

I gulped as I glanced at the painting hanging right next to my head.

"And above all," the housekeeper continued, lowering her voice, "there shall be no disturbing of the professor."

The professor.

I sat down right there on the steps.

Professor Kirke. Who else could it be?

That would make the snappy woman Mrs. Macready.

And the four children I saw in the carriage...

I rushed back up the stairs, not caring anymore if anyone heard my footsteps. I flew into my new room, kicking the door closed behind me and collapsed on the bed. The tears came freely now, all of the fear and anxiety that now rolled through me let loose in hiccupping sobs.

I was in Professor Kirke's manor.

I was in 1940's England.

No, not the 1940's England of my world, but of the world in the Narnia books.

How was I supposed to get home when I wasn't even in the same world?

I didn't have the paper I had used to read myself here in the first place. I remembered dropping it when the magic started working full force. I didn't even have my tourmaline, the one possible magical link to home.

I could feel the tears welling up again but I dried my eyes with a couple of rough swipes.

 _Stop it, Jenna_ , I scolded myself. _You're going to figure this out. Stop being such a wimp and think_.

My first idea was to go ask the professor but I scratched that. Mrs. Macready had explicitly said the professor was to be left alone. Besides what if he thought I was a crazy person and had me thrown in the insane asylum? Those were really bad in the 1940's weren't they?

A noise in the hall outside broke my concentration. I started moving without thinking. I grabbed the nightgown from where I'd thrown it on the floor and put it on over top of my clothes, grateful now for the full coverage that came with the style of the times. I dove under the covers and pulled them up to my chin, curling up and feigning sleep.

It seemed the visitor was a polite person, though, and gave a sharp knock on the door instead of barging in. I sat up, checked that my clothes really were covered, and then called out, "Come in." I resisted the urge to cover my mouth as my voice was suddenly transformed into a British accent.

The door opened and Mrs. Macready stepped into the room. "Dinner will be served in ten minutes, Jenivieve, if you're feeling well enough to join us."

It took a second to register that Mrs. Macready had used my full name but then I recovered and coughed weakly a couple times. "Um, I'm still not feeling well, Mrs. Macready, sorry." I coughed a couple more times, cringing inside at my pitiful performance. My mom would've seen right through me at the first cough.

I suspected that Mrs. Macready did, too, but she said, "Well, I'm not bringing you food again. If you want something, come down to the kitchen and Cook will find something for you."

I nodded and asked, "Are the others here now?"

Mrs. Macready bobbed her head once. "They're in the rooms down the hall and to the right." She turned on her heel and shut the door with a loud snap.

I let out a sigh of relief and lay back on the bed for a minute before getting up to put the clothes back in the wardrobe. I paced around the room in my nightgown for a bit, processing the past...thirty minutes? Everything was happening so fast.

A wave of exhaustion washed over me. Now that the adrenaline was winding down, the huge loss of energy from my magic was catching up to me. I slipped back under the covers and this time fell asleep for real.

xxxxx

When I woke up the room was darker and for one cliché moment I had no idea where I was. Then I remembered and I curled up even tighter, squashing the automatic fear that was building inside me.

I was going to get through this.

I was going to get home.

I whispered those simple sentences to myself over and over for a few minutes until I felt calm again. Panic wasn't going to help anything.

The last rays of sunlight from the day were enough to let me turn on the lamp. The clock showed it was a little after eight. I'd been asleep for only a few hours.

A loud growl scratched the sides of my stomach. I had slept right through dinnertime. I wondered if Cook was still here and then realized I had no idea how to get to the kitchen.

 _Well, guess it's time to do a little exploring_. I put on the slippers sitting next to the loafers this time. Warmth was the priority now instead of silence. If Mrs. Macready got on me I'd tell her I was going to the kitchen and hope I wasn't on the other side of the house.

I headed downstairs and started wandering through the central part of the manor since I figured that was where the main rooms would be. I walked through a couple of dens and lounge rooms with fireplaces before finding the dining room. I pushed through the door on the other side to find the kitchen, which was smaller than I expected for the size of the manor.

A middle-aged woman was taking off her apron and hanging it on a hook beside the door that led outside. A servant's entrance I figured. She saw me and smiled. "Ah, there you are, Jenna. I wondered if you were going to come down. I was just about to leave but I'll warm up some soup I made for your dinner."

Cook motioned me to the little table where I guessed she ate during meals. I sat in one of the two chairs and a few minutes later Cook set a steaming bowl of what looked like chicken noodle soup in front of me, as well as a glass of water.

"Thank you, Cook."

"Of course, my dear. I'm not about to let a sick girl go hungry." She picked up a handbag sitting next to the door. "Do you mind cleaning up after yourself, Jenna? I really do need to get home."

I shook my head and smiled. "Good night."

"Good night, my dear." Cook plopped a small hat onto her head and with that she was gone.

The soup was filling, albeit a little on the salty side. The heat spread throughout my entire body and I let myself relax a little. Food, especially hearty food like this, always made me feel better when I was stressed.

Now that I knew where I was going it didn't take me long to return to my room. Before I opened the door, though, I paused. I looked down the hall to where it split left and right. _Down the hall and to the right_. I bit my lip and then sighed. It didn't look like I was going home anytime soon, and if I was going to be living with these people, then I wouldn't be able to avoid them forever.

I headed down the hall and looked both ways at the fork. To the left, the hall had one more door and then another staircase. To the right, it looked similar to the corridor my room was in, ending at a table with a vase on it that was probably from some ancient civilization.

As I walked down this corridor I could see that a couple of the doors were open. The sound of a radio came from one of them and as I drew closer I realized it was a newscast about the air raids. I struggled to wrap my head around the reminder that I was in World War Two time now.

The newscast clicked off and I peeked around the corner to see a girl who looked a bit older than me with pretty brown hair with her hands on the radio. A boy around the same age as her with dirty blonde hair looked over at her from the dark window. A sound drew everyone's attention to the bed, where a young girl was pulling at the blankets.

"The sheets are scratchy," she said.

"Wars don't last forever, Lucy," the older girl said. "We'll be home soon."

A boy who looked to be my age came into view. "Yeah, if home's still there."

"Isn't it time you were in bed?" the older girl told him with an irritated look.

"Yes, Mum," he shot back.

"Ed!" their older brother snapped. I cringed and felt a little guilty at overhearing the obvious friction. He turned back to Lucy. "You saw outside. This place is huge. We can do whatever we want here. Tomorrow's gonna be great, really."

I chose that moment to reveal myself. I took a deep breath and stepped into the room. "He's right. This place isn't so bad."

All four siblings looked up at me.

I grew self-conscious under their stares and felt my face warm. "Sorry, is this a bad time?"

The older girl glanced at Ed and shook her head. "No, it's all right. You must be the other refugee."

I nodded. "I'm Jenna. Well, Jenivieve, actually, but I've always found it a mouthful."

"I'm Susan," she replied, "and this is Peter, Lucy, and Edmund." She gestured to her siblings respectively.

"We can introduce ourselves," Edmund grumbled. That earned him another glare.

"How long have you been here?" Peter asked.

"Uhh." I wracked my brain trying to remember what I had written. "A week. But it still feels like I only just got here." The half-truth somewhat soothed my conscience.

Lucy sniffed and I realized she was close to tears. I knelt down next to her bed and told her, "Don't worry, you'll get used to being here soon enough." I smiled and she managed a small smile back.

I stood up again. "Well, I better get to bed. Don't want Mrs. Macready catching me up and about when it's getting late."

"It was nice to meet you," Susan said.

"You, too," I replied. "See you in the morning."

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 **AN: Yay, it's Tuesday! I've been so impatient to get the next chapter out because I really wanted to get into the story and have Jenna meet the Pevensies! This past week seemed to drag on forever. I hope this piece has really caught your attention! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how this turns out.  
Don't forget to favorite and follow and comment and review and all that good stuff! Thanks everyone! See you next week when we get to go to NARNIA! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

It was raining the next day.

The green lawn beyond my window was obscured by gray water. I sighed and felt sorry that Lucy wouldn't be able to go outside and get some sunshine. I put on the same clothes I wore for my little excursion yesterday, along with some stockings from the chest and the loafers.

Putting on the strange clothes made me think about the situation. I was in the Pevensies' world, and we were all here at Professor Kirke's manor. That meant that soon they would be going to Narnia. _I wonder if Lucy will find..._ The thought trailed off and I frowned. Lucy was supposed to find something, but I couldn't remember what. That was weird. I had read this book too many times to forget something like that. Wait, this book...what was it called again? _The Lion, The_...

Panic seized me. I couldn't remember the story. Why? Why was I forgetting? I took a few deep breaths to try and calm down. The fact that I was in the wrong world and needed to get home was firm in my mind, but the story itself was disappearing. A thought struck me. Maybe it was because the Jenna in my assignment didn't know anything about the Pevensies, or Narnia, or what was going to happen. Maybe when I read myself here I had become that Jenna. It was the only thing that made any logical sense.

"Well, that'll just make this more fun," I told myself. "After all, it would be unfair if I knew what was going to happen and the others didn't." Determined to make the most of my experience, I skipped out of my room. Mrs. Macready remarked that all that sleeping I did yesterday must have done its job when she saw me rushing down the stairs.

I joined the Pevensies at breakfast for some simple but delicious eggs and toast. We wandered through a few of the libraries and lounges on the first floor before finally stopping in one of them. Lucy curled up on the window bench, gazing out at the rain. Edmund paced around the room. Susan, Peter, and I each found books to read from the piece of Professor Kirke's collection stored in that room.

After Susan finished her book, she pulled out a massive dictionary and suggested a game where we tried to guess the definition and such of weird words. Peter and I shrugged and no one had any other ideas. Lucy was still staring out the window and Edmund had lain down under a chair and was removing the nuts and bolts. I made a mental note not to sit in it.

I didn't realize that it could get any more boring.

"Gastrovascular," Susan sounded out.

Peter and I both sighed.

"Come on, Peter. Gastrovascular."

"Is it Latin?" he asked.

"Yes," Susan answered.

"Is it Latin for 'worst game ever invented'?" Edmund joked, sitting up from under the chair.

Susan glared at him and slammed shut the dictionary.

Lucy finally left the window seat. She suggested, "We could play hide and seek."

"But we're already having so much fun," Peter said with no trace of excitement.

Susan glared at him, too.

"I think hide and seek sounds fun," I said.

"Come on, Peter, please." Lucy pouted. "Pretty please?"

Peter looked up at her puppy dog eyes.

"One, two, three," he started counting as both he and Lucy started grinning. Peter moved to a corner and covered his eyes while Lucy ran out of the room.

"What?" Edmund said and put the hardware from the chair on the coffee table before stomping out.

Susan rolled her eyes but like everyone else she hurried out of the room.

I followed Lucy and we grinned at each other as we ran through the foyer and up the stairs. We rushed around the second floor for a bit and at one point Lucy spotted some heavy curtains in the hall. She dashed toward them and was about to slip between the folds when she was suddenly pushed aside. Edmund took her spot, saying, "I was here first!"

Lucy and I gave him nasty looks before turning down another hallway. Lucy tried the first door to find it locked. I was already at the second door and the knob turned under my hand. "Here!" I cried and we burst into the room.

We stopped in our tracks. The room was empty except for one large object that stood against the opposite wall. A white sheet covered it, protecting it from the dust that had settled on the windowsills. I gently closed the door behind us as Lucy stepped toward the object. I held back, my brain telling me that this was something for Lucy, although I couldn't remember why. Lucy stared up at the object for a moment before reaching up and pulling away the sheet.

The white folds dropped to the floor to reveal a beautiful wardrobe.

The dark wood was intricately carved. Panels on either side of the door as well as the door itself depicted different images and symbols, from a tree to a bell. I approached the wardrobe myself as Lucy opened the door to release a few mothballs.

She turned around and smiled at me. "This is perfect! Come on!"

I smiled back and Lucy held the door open for me as I stepped up into the wardrobe. She followed right behind me and pulled the door almost all the way closed. We peered through the crack and listened to Peter counting, "89, 90, 91, 92..."

The wardrobe was filled with heavy fur coats that muffled sound as Lucy and I began moving back to try and find the far corners of the wardrobe to hide in. We kept our eyes on that little crack so we could see if Peter entered the room when he finished counting.

Suddenly Lucy gasped.

I looked over at her and I realized that it was lighter in the wardrobe than it should've been from just that tiny crack. It was also very quiet.

The two of us slowly turned around to find pine needles and snow. We pushed through the branches and I gasped.

Before us lay a sprawling wood covered in snow, with even more falling softly. As far as the eye could see there was white with hints of green and brown where the trees stood in the cold blanket. Lucy and I drifted through the forest, marveling at the snowflakes that settled in our hair and hands. Lucy turned around at one point and I followed her gaze to see the fur coats of the wardrobe and that crack of light hidden behind some snow-laden branches. We smiled at each other, reassured that we would be able to return, and continued through the woods.

As we rounded a bend we came across a new sight that seemed very out of place in the woods: a lamppost. The metal was covered in ice but bright flames burned in the lamp, lending a soft orange glow to the snow. Lucy reached out and touched the lamppost, her fingers leaving prints in the frost.

The sound was like an explosion in the silence. The cracking of branches in the trees behind us, then muffled footsteps circling the clearing. I moved next to Lucy and put my hands on her shoulders, ready to protect the younger girl if need be. We looked all around the trees, trying to follow the sounds, and then out of the corner of my eye I saw something turn into the clearing.

Lucy and I whirled around and screamed. A foreign scream matched ours. Lucy and I ran behind the lamppost even though it did nothing to hide us, while the newcomer found a better hiding spot behind a thick tree.

We peeked out at each other from our respective sanctuaries before Lucy moved out from under my grip and started moving towards the tree.

"Lucy," I hissed, but she ignored me.

The young girl moved ever closer to the tree and I saw that there were some packages lying in the snow. The stranger must have dropped them when we scared each other. I looked back to the tree to see a quite human face watching Lucy. She reached down and picked up the first package out of the snow and the stranger finally emerged from behind the tree.

My jaw dropped. The stranger looked pretty much like a man from the waist up, but below that it looked like he had goat legs covered in brown fur. Two little horns stuck up from his brown curls. He wore no clothing except for a red scarf wrapped around his neck.

The goat-man stuttered as he pointed at the packages with a snow-covered umbrella.

Lucy held out the package she had picked up. "Were you hiding from us?" she asked.

The goat-man accepted the package and began picking up the rest. "No," he replied. "Well, I just, no, no." He started stammering again before finally saying, "I was just, um, I didn't want to scare you."

I finally moved from behind the lamppost and approached the goat-man. "Sorry if this is rude, but what exactly are you?"

He looked at us as if that was the stupidest question in the world. "Well, I'm a..." He looked at both of us to check that we were serious. "Well, I'm a faun."

"A faun," I repeated.

He nodded. "And what about you? You must be some kind of beardless dwarf?"

I snorted and Lucy exclaimed, "We're not dwarves! We're girls!" She picked up another package and gave it to the faun, adding, "And actually, I'm tallest in my class."

The faun had a strange look on his face. "You mean to say that you are a Daughter of Eve?" he asked.

Lucy looked at me, confused just as I was. "Well, my mum's name is Helen."

"Yes, but you are in fact human?"

"Yes," I answered. "Of course we're human." Had the faun really never met a human before? Well, then again, we had never met a faun before. Were there no other humans in this snowy land?

Now the faun looked confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, we were hiding in the wardrobe in the spare room," Lucy explained, "and-"

The faun cut her off. "Spare Oom? Is that in Narnia?"

"Narnia?" I echoed. The word sounded familiar to me but I couldn't quite place it.

"What's that?" Lucy asked.

The faun gave a little chuckle. "Well, dear girl, you're in it. Everything from the lamppost," he pointed with this umbrella to the lantern and then out into the forest, "all the way to castle Cair Paravel on the Eastern Ocean, every stick and stone you see, every icicle, is Narnia."

A break in the trees afforded us a view of the forest and hills beyond the lamppost. Everything was covered in snow, and despite the grayscale of it all, the scene was breathtaking.

"This is an awfully big wardrobe," Lucy murmured.

"I'm sorry," the faun said. "Please allow me to introduce myself." He gave a small bow. "My name is Tumnus."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Tumnus," Lucy replied. "I'm Lucy Pevensie." She stuck out her hand.

Mr. Tumnus just looked at it.

"Oh, you shake it," Lucy explained.

"Why?" he asked.

Lucy thought for a moment. "I don't know. People do it when they meet each other."

Mr. Tumnus raised his eyebrows at that but nevertheless he reached out and grabbed Lucy's fingers, wiggling them a bit before letting them go.

"I'm Jenna Lockley," I said, offering my own hand. Mr. Tumnus shook it like he did Lucy's and we all laughed.

"Well then, Lucy Pevensie and Jenna Lockley, from the shining city of War Drobe in the wondrous land of Spare Oom, how would it be if you came and had tea with me?" The faun opened his umbrella with a swoosh.

Lucy and I hesitated. I spoke up, "Thank you for the invitation, but we should probably be heading back."

"Yes but it's only just around the corner." The words raced out of Mr. Tumnus's mouth. "And there'll be a glorious fire with toast and tea and cakes. And perhaps we'll even break into the sardines."

"I don't know," Lucy said.

"Oh, come on," Mr. Tumnus insisted. "It's not every day that I get to make a new friend, let alone two."

It was hearing him call us his friends that convinced us.

"We could go for a little while, couldn't we?" Lucy asked me.

"Just for a little while," I said.

Lucy picked up the last package and threaded her arm through one of Mr. Tumnus's while I took the other. She added, "If you have sardines."

Mr. Tumnus smiled. "By the bucketload."

The walk to Mr. Tumnus's home did not take long, which I was happy about since the snow had soaked my loafers and the cold was biting into my skin now. Mr. Tumnus's umbrella kept any more snow from falling on us but it couldn't do anything about the snow already on the ground as we trudged up and down hills. Lucy and I stopped when we saw that Mr. Tumnus's home was built into a small mountain, the door peeking out from the rock side.

"Well, here we are," Mr. Tumnus said. "Come along."

Lucy and I each took a couple of packages off Mr. Tumnus's hands so he could open the door and show us through. The interior of Mr. Tumnus's home was cozier than I expected. The cave had been carved out by either time or hand, or maybe even both, to create a large space. Candles scattered around the room, as well as the fire already blazing in the small hearth, provided lighting and created a warm atmosphere. Knick-knacks and books were everywhere, either strewn haphazardly on tables or stacked neatly on shelves. Lucy and I put the packages down by a table with a couple of paintings on it. Lucy picked up one of them, a portrait of another faun.

"Now, that, that is my father," Mr. Tumnus told us.

"He has a nice face," Lucy said. "He looks a lot like you."

"No," Mr. Tumnus said quietly and I wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or us. "I'm not very much like him at all, really."

Lucy set the painting back on its stand. "My father's fighting in the war."

"My father went away to war, too," Mr. Tumnus said.

I bit my lip. My father worked as a physical therapist.

"But that was a long, long time ago," Mr. Tumnus added as he snatched up a teapot. "Before this dreadful winter."

"Winter's not all bad," Lucy commented.

"Yeah," I piped up. "You can have snowball fights and make snowmen. Although I'd rather curl up under a blanket with a cup of hot cocoa."

"Oh, and don't forget Christmas!" Lucy said.

Mr. Tumnus brought a tray with a tea set over to the low table by the fireplace. "No, not here. We haven't had a Christmas in a hundred years."

"What? No presents for a hundred years?" Lucy said.

Mr. Tumnus gave a sad smile. "Always winter, never Christmas. It's been a long winter." Mr. Tumnus poured two cups of tea and gave them to Lucy and me. He poured some cream in Lucy's and I politely refused, taking a couple of sugar cubes instead, as well as one of the cakes from a little plate on the tray.

"But you would have loved Narnia in summer," Mr. Tumnus went on. "We fauns danced with the dryads all night and, you know, we never got tired. And music, such music!"

The thought of Mr. Tumnus dancing around with other fauns out in a green forest made me smile as I sipped my tea and dipped the cake in my cup before taking a bite.

"Would you like to hear some now?" Mr. Tumnus asked.

Lucy and I smiled. "Yes, please," we replied.

The faun took down a box from the mantle. "Now, are you familiar with any Narnian lullabies?"

We shook our heads.

"Well, that's good. Because this probably won't sound anything like one." Mr. Tumnus pulled out a pipe I had never seen before. It looked like an upside down Y when he held it up, with the two forked lines lined with holes like a recorder.

When he started playing I heard the effect of the split shafts immediately. One side was used to play a drone tone while the other side was used to play the actual melody at the same time. It was a clever way to allow one player to create harmonies.

The pipe's sound was just as warm as the fire in the hearth, and the tea in my cup, and the cake in my hand. The music weaved its way into my head and I could feel muscles relaxing I didn't even realize were tense.

Lucy gasped and she jerked on my arm and pointed at the fire. I looked over to see regular flames, but Lucy was looking at Mr. Tumnus and he nodded towards the fire. Suddenly, a flame shaped like a deer popped up. The deer ran around the fire, followed by a horseman that popped up after it. A few seconds later they both melted back into the flames.

Various woodland creatures took shape. Birds and squirrels chased each other. A fox prowled around in the trees. Then a circle of fauns appeared, dancing around and around like I had imagined when Mr. Tumnus spoke of summer in Narnia. I could almost hear them laughing.

I took another small sip of tea and slowly chewed the last bite of my cake. I couldn't take my eyes away from the dancing flames. It felt like the tea was running through my veins instead of blood, filling me with a soft heat so that I was warm on the inside and out. The cake rested comfortably in my stomach, its sweet texture still fresh on my tongue.

The music captured every thought in my mind. _I think this really could pass as a lullaby_ , I thought in the moment before my eyes closed and sleep took me.

* * *

 **AN: Yay, Narnia! And so the adventure begins! Kinda. Sorry this chapter went up a bit later in the day. I had to work and I was basically delirious from the heat for half of the shift (my job is outside) and exhausted for the rest of the day. Hope you all enjoy!  
I just want to say thank you to everyone who's been reading this and giving it favorites and follows. I've gotten more follows than I could have ever expected in such a short amount of time.  
So thank you everyone! ^_^**


	4. Chapter 4

The first thing I noticed was the cold.

My eyes popped open and for a moment it seemed like they weren't open at all until they began to adjust to the darkness.

For a moment I wondered why I was so cold when I should be under the covers of my bed. Then the sound of a few soothing notes drifted through my memory. Mr. Tumnus. The faun was nowhere in sight.

I moved to get out of my chair and I stepped on something that clinked. I looked down to see two shattered teacups. Lucy had fallen asleep as well. I reached out to shake her awake when she stirred and opened her eyes.

The fire had gone out, as well as the candles, and the darkness lent a gloomy atmosphere to the faun's home, which had been so cheery just a little bit ago. I wondered why there wasn't at least some sunlight when I saw the world outside through a window. It was nighttime. How long had we been asleep? How long had we been gone from Professor Kirke's manor?

The back of my neck tingled. "We should get back," I whispered.

"It's too late for that now." We looked over to see Mr. Tumnus huddled on the floor against one of the pillars that supported his dwelling. "I'm such a terrible faun."

Lucy moved to comfort him. "Oh no. You're the nicest faun I've ever met."

"Then I'm afraid you've had a very poor sampling," Mr. Tumnus replied.

 _Well, you are the only faun we've met_ , I thought to myself.

"No, you can't have done anything that bad." Lucy pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Mr. Tumnus. I patted myself down and realized that I didn't have one. Would it be weird if I didn't have a handkerchief on me? I would need to remember to grab one when I got back.

"It's not something I have done, Lucy Pevensie and Jenna Lockley," Mrs. Tumnus said. "It's something I am doing."

Lucy and I looked at each other obviously confused. My stomach had a knot in it. Mr. Tumnus wasn't making any sense.

"I'm kidnapping you."

I strode across the room and wrapped my arms around Lucy, pulling her back and away from the faun.

"It was the White Witch!" Mr. Tumnus cried in a desperate voice. "She's the one who makes it always winter, always cold. She gave orders if any of us ever find a human wandering in the woods we're supposed to turn it over to her."

My hold on Lucy tightened a little.

"But, Mr. Tumnus," Lucy said, "you wouldn't." Bless her heart, still giving him the benefit of the doubt. "I thought you were our friend."

Mr. Tumnus looked up at us and something glinted in his eyes. A moment later he was on his feet – well, hooves – and throwing his red scarf around his neck. He grabbed our hands and pulled us out into the Narnian night, barely taking the time to lock the door to his home behind him. He half-dragged us into the trees as we struggled to find our footing in the fresh powder. Finally we were full out running through the snow, letting the faun guide us through the dark woods.

"Now, she may already know you're here," he warned. "The woods are full of her spies. Even some of the trees on her side."

 _Trees?_ I eyed the trunks that flashed by us warily.

At last we could see a spot of light ahead and we slid into the lamppost clearing. The lantern still glowed as brightly as before, with no indication that the flames were close to going out.

"Can you find your way back from here?" Mr. Tumnus asked.

"I think so," Lucy replied and I nodded in agreement. "Will you be all right?"

I could tell Mr. Tumnus was trying to keep a brave face but a small sob still escaped. He pressed Lucy's handkerchief to his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He tried to give the hankie back to Lucy.

She took her hands away. "Keep it," she said. "You need it more than I do."

The anxiety in my chest was growing every second. I touched Lucy's shoulder. "We should go."

Mr. Tumnus nodded. He took our hands one more time and said, "No matter what happens, Lucy Pevensie, Jenna Lockley, I am glad to have met you. You've made me feel warmer than I've felt in a hundred years." I felt him squeeze my hand and I squeezed back. "Now, go. Go!"

I didn't hesitate for a moment. I grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her away from Mr. Tumnus. We didn't look back as we stumbled through the new snowdrifts to the copse of trees that hid the sliver of light from the wardrobe. Our momentum carried us through the pine needles and fur coats and out the wardrobe door where we tumbled onto the floor.

Lucy was up on her feet again in a flash. She rushed out of the room and through the open doorway I faintly heard Peter call out, "Ready or not, here I come!" The words didn't fully register as I followed Lucy out into the hallway. She was shouting, "It's all right! We're back! We're all right!"

"Shut up!" Edmund's head popped out from behind some curtains. "He's coming!"

"What are you doing there, Edmund?" I asked.

"Hiding, remember?" he replied with a disparaging look.

At that moment Peter turned the corner and spotted us. Edmund came out from behind the curtains with an exasperated sigh. "You know," Peter told us, "I'm not sure you three have quite got the idea of this game."

Lucy and I were thoroughly confused. "Weren't you wondering where we were?" she asked.

"That's the point," Edmund said. "That was why he was seeking you."

Susan joined us from wherever she had been hiding. "Does this mean I win?"

"I don't think Lucy wants to play anymore," Peter told her.

"Wait, you're still playing hide and seek?" I asked.

"We've been gone for hours," Lucy added.

Now the other three Pevensies looked confused. "What are you talking about, Lu?" Susan asked.

"There's a wardrobe," Lucy explained, "and Jenna and I went to hide in it, and it led to a wood covered in snow!"

Everyone looked at me. "It's true," I said.

Lucy took Peter's hand and started pulling him back to the wardrobe room. "Come see for yourself!"

The rest of us followed Lucy and the others examined the wardrobe. Edmund slipped behind it and knocked on the back of it. Peter looked inside a moment, then stepped back, shaking his head at Susan. She pushed aside some of the coats to reveal a clear view of the back of the wardrobe. She reached in and knocked against a solid wood panel.

"Lucy, the only wood in here is the back of the wardrobe," Susan said.

"One game at a time, Lu," Peter said. "We don't all have your imagination. If you just wanted to play with Jenna you could have said so." The three of them turned to leave the room.

"But we weren't just playing!" I shouted after them, even though I couldn't deny that the wardrobe was nothing more than just that now.

"We didn't imagine it all!" Lucy yelled.

"That's enough, Lu," Susan said.

"I wouldn't lie about this!" Lucy cried.

Edmund stepped forward. "Well, I believe you."

I raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

"Yeah, of course," he said with a smirk. "Didn't I tell you about the football field in the bathroom cupboards?"

My heart sank as I realized Edmund was just teasing us. I looked over to see that Lucy was on the verge of tears.

"Now will you just stop?" Peter told Edmund. "You just have to make everything worse, don't you?"

"It's just a joke!" Edmund protested.

"When are you gonna learn to grow up?" Peter said.

"Shut up!" Edmund put his face right in Peter's, making his big brother take a few steps back. "You think you're Dad, but you're not!" He stormed out of the room.

Susan gave Peter a withering look. "Well, that was nicely handled." She followed Edmund out.

Lucy spoke up again, "But, it really was there."

"Susan's right, Lucy," Peter said. "That's enough."

And then it was just Lucy and I and the wardrobe. I pushed back some of the coats myself and we could both clearly see just the wooden panel of the back of the wardrobe. Lucy and I stared forlornly into the wardrobe before I finally withdrew my arm. Lucy slowly closed the wardrobe door.

"It was real, wasn't it?" she whispered.

I knelt and pulled Lucy into a hug. "Of course it was. Don't pay any mind to the others."

Lucy sniffed. "Why wouldn't they believe me?"

"Some things can be hard to believe, Lucy," I murmured.

 _Would you believe me?_

* * *

 **AN: Sorry that this chapter is so short, especially compared to the last one! That's just how it worked out with how I'm dividing up the scenes. There will be more next chapter, I promise!  
Don't forget to follow, favorite, etc. and thanks for reading, everyone! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

The soft knock on the door didn't penetrate my dreams, nor did the creak of the floorboards as small boots crossed the room. The hand shaking my shoulder did, though, and my eyes flashed open to see Lucy's wide blue eyes illuminated by a flickering candle.

"Mm, Lucy?" I mumbled. "What is it?"

"I'm going back," she said.

"What? To Narnia?"

"Yes. You and I both know it's really there. I'm going to see Mr. Tumnus again. Come with me." She tugged on my arm.

As much as the thought of seeing the magical land again pulled at me, sleep pulled harder. After Lucy and I had come back the five of us had found a radio in one of the lounges so we pulled back the furniture and had a dance party. 1940's music wasn't so bad after all and we were all breathless within a couple hours. I was ready to go another round when a news broadcast came on with updates about the raids in London. We all sat quietly listening to the newscast for a few minutes before Susan finally got up and turned off the radio. Dinner was a somber affair that evening.

My endurance still wasn't up to a hundred percent after using my magic, so after our Narnian adventure and dance party, I was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. My muscles still felt heavy as stone and I did not feel like traipsing through the snow again.

"Not tonight, Lucy," I responded. "Next time, all right? Tell Mr. Tumnus I said hello."

Lucy made a whining sound but she let go of my arm. "All right. Next time. Promise?"

"Promise."

Lucy promptly hurried out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her and cutting off my view of the flickering flame in her hands.

I turned over onto my other side and fell back asleep within a few minutes. Suddenly I was standing in the snow. A creaking sound above me made me look up. A storm of ice was crashing down on top of me. I heard screams and then I felt the ice below me break and I dropped into freezing cold water. I instinctively swam back upward and when my head broke the surface I was dry and flames were in my face. I tried to make out my surroundings but all I saw was fire and shadows dancing in the smoke. Then a fierce wind tore through and wiped out the inferno. The gale blew all around me and roared in my ears, taking my breath away. The roaring grew louder and louder and I realized it wasn't the wind but-

I woke with a loud gasp and coughing, trying to get air back in my lungs. I lay on my back taking ragged breaths for a few minutes. My heart was pounding and I could feel my magic tingling in my blood. I pushed back the sensation and just focused on breathing.

Adrenaline was pumping through me now and I knew I wasn't going back to sleep again anytime soon. With a sigh I threw on the light purple robe in my wardrobe over my nightgown. Might as well go make sure Lucy was okay. The fear that the wardrobe wouldn't let me into Narnia nagged me but I pushed it away. If I got there and it was just a regular wardrobe then it probably would've been like that for Lucy, too.

My eyes had adjusted to the darkness well enough so I decided to go without a candle. I pulled on some boots that I had found in the chest and headed across the second floor to the wardrobe room. When I got there the wardrobe door was shut tight, which struck me as a little odd since Lucy would have probably left it open a crack. I opened the door and stepped into the wardrobe, making sure the door didn't shut all the way this time.

Since I didn't have a light source of my own I could easily see the white light pouring in from the back of the wardrobe. I couldn't help grinning as I pushed through the mass of furs. The woods were bright with daylight but the snow didn't sparkle thanks to the heavy cloud cover. I wondered if it was going to snow again soon.

I set out in the direction of the lamppost but I hadn't gone far when I heard sounds down another break in the trees. I headed towards them a little ways and realized they were voices. I wondered if Lucy had found a new friend. Or maybe she'd run into something that wasn't so nice to humans.

The thought of Lucy in trouble spurred me on and I walked as fast as I could through the snow. When I got closer, though, I realized that Lucy wasn't one of the voices. The female sounded older, and there was a boy's voice as well. I slowed my pace and moved further into the trees so it would be easier to stay undetected. In the middle of the white I could see a silver shape in the trees and I realized it was a large chariot-like sleigh. I moved from tree to tree until I could see who was inside and I had to hold back a gasp.

An older woman with thick braids and a crown of ice on her head had her white fur coat wrapped around none other than Edmund. He had a giant silver goblet to his lips and took gulps of the steaming contents. When he lowered the cup he asked, "Can you make me taller?"

The lack of context confused me. Was this woman magic?

The woman laughed. "Anything you'd like to eat?"

Edmund took another sip of the drink. "Turkish delight?"

The woman held out what looked to be a vial and let something drop into the snow. A circular silver case formed out of the snow. A little man – maybe he was one of the dwarves Mr. Tumnus had assumed us to be at first – reached down and picked up the box and handed it to the woman. She traded him for the goblet and the dwarf promptly threw it over his shoulder, right at the tree I had taken cover behind. I covered my head expecting some warm liquid to spill over it but the goblet hit the tree square in the trunk and burst into a puff of snow instead.

I looked back up to see Edmund digging into the Turkish delight. The woman got his attention and said, "I would very much like to meet the rest of your family."

"Why?" Edmund asked around a mouthful of gooey sugar. "They're nothing special."

"Oh, I'm sure they're not nearly as delightful as you are," the woman told him as she wiped Edmund's mouth with the dwarf's hat. I resisted the urge to snort. "But, you see, Edmund, I have no children of my own."

 _I wonder why_ , I thought.

"And you are exactly the kind of boy who I could see, one day, becoming Prince of Narnia. Maybe even King."

Edmund, a king? That wasn't the best idea in the world. And who exactly was this woman if she has the power to make him a king?

"Really?" Edmund said.

"Of course you'd have to bring your family," she stipulated.

"Oh, do you mean Peter would be king, too?" Edmund asked, looking a little downhearted.

"No!" The woman smiled. "But a king needs servants."

That thought cheered Edmund up right away. "I guess I could bring them." He stuffed another piece of Turkish delight into his mouth before the woman took away the tray and gave it to the dwarf. He took a piece for himself before throwing it at the tree just like the goblet. Another pile of snow exploded above me on impact.

"Beyond these woods, you see those two hills? My house is right between them." I could see the looming shapes of what looked more like two mountains than hills through the trees, with a valley dividing them.

The woman gently nudged Edmund to his feet. "You'd love it there, Edmund. It has whole rooms simply stuffed with Turkish delight."

"Couldn't I have some more now?" Edmund asked.

"No!" The woman's shout made me jump and the word echoed through the trees. I heard a small bird take flight in alarm a few trees over. The woman spoke more softly again, "Don't want to ruin your appetite. Besides, you and I are going to be seeing each other again very soon."

"I hope so," Edmund replied, "Your Majesty." He stepped down from the sled as the dwarf climbed up into the coachman's seat.

"Until then, dear one. I'm gonna miss you." The woman sat back in the seat and the dwarf lashed his whip at the white reindeer that I just now saw were responsible for pulling the sleigh. They took off at the prompt and the sleigh with them, setting off into the woods with a clanging of bells.

I waited until the last jingling echo to come out from behind the trees. I marched straight up to Edmund, whose eyes widened at the sight of me, and exclaimed, "Turkish delight? Really?"

"Jenna? What are you doing here?"

I ignored his question. "What do you think you're doing?"

Edmund looked flustered. "I, uh, you see-"

"Are you really going to bring your brother and sisters to that woman? You don't know who she is!"

"Yes, I do!" Edmund finally said. "She's the Queen of Narnia, and she's going to make me King of Narnia."

I scoffed, "You, a king? I'll believe it when I see it."

"You will! I'll finally be in charge of Peter and when Dad comes home he'll see that I'm not a kid anymore."

The anger melted out of me and I sighed. "Come on, let's just find Lucy and head back."

I turned and headed back toward the lamppost and the wardrobe, pausing when I didn't hear Edmund following me. I looked back to see him gazing off in the direction of the hills that the "Queen of Narnia" had pointed out. "Edmund," I called out. He looked at me and then finally turned around and started back up the path.

"Jenna?"

I spun around to see Lucy running toward me and before I knew it she had wrapped her arms around me. "You came after all!" When she stepped back she looked behind me and her brow furrowed. "Edmund?" Then a smile broke out on her face and she rushed in to hug him as well. "Oh, Edmund, you got in, too! Isn't it wonderful?"

Edmund pushed his little sister off of him. "Where have you been?" he asked her.

"With Mr. Tumnus," she replied.

I caught Edmund's eye and pointed at a spot near my mouth. He quickly wiped away the sugar still on his lips.

Lucy paid no mind to the gesture and continued, "The White Witch hasn't found out anything about him meeting me."

"The White Witch?" Edmund asked.

Lucy leaned in closer to us. "She calls herself 'the Queen of Narnia,' but she really isn't."

I gave Edmund a pointed look and he averted his eyes from both of us.

That one didn't escape Lucy. She asked, "Are you all right? You look awful."

Edmund's hard tone returned. "Well, what'd you expect? I mean, it's freezing. How do we get out of here?"

Lucy took his hand. "Come on. This way." She pulled him up the path to head back through the wardrobe. I threw one last look at those two hills before following a few steps behind.

Lucy took off as soon as we were back in the manor, where it seemed like no time had passed, just like before. I was right behind her as she stormed into her brothers' room. Edmund followed us in a few moments later, setting to work on tidying up his bed. Lucy jumped on Peter, shaking him more furiously than she had me earlier that night and shouting, "Peter, Peter, wake up! Wake up! It's there! It's really there!"

"Shhhhh!" Peter was quick to try and quiet his excited sister. "Lucy, what are you talking about?"

Lucy's energy refused to be contained. "Narnia! It's all in the wardrobe like we told you!"

Susan was up and in the room now. "You've just been dreaming, Lucy."

"But I haven't!" Lucy protested. "I saw Mr. Tumnus again! And this time Edmund went, too."

Everyone immediately looked at Edmund who stopped in the middle of going through his robe's pockets.

"You saw the faun?" Peter asked.

Edmund didn't say anything but he shook his head "no."

"Well, he didn't actually go there with me," Lucy clarified. "He...What were you doing there, Edmund?"

I raised my eyebrows at him. It would be so easy for me to tell them that Edmund had told a woman who was possibly a witch he would bring them all to her and make them his servants so he could be a king, but it wasn't my place. Besides, I didn't have much credit since the Pevensies still barely knew me.

Edmund caught my look and quickly looked away. He finally said, "I was just playing along."

My jaw dropped. The little brat was lying again.

"I'm sorry, Peter," he continued. "I shouldn't have encouraged her, but you know what little children are like these days. They just don't know when to stop pretending."

Lucy immediately burst into tears and ran out of the room. I went after her, roughly pushing Edmund back onto his bed and telling him, "You're an ass." Peter and Susan were right behind me as we followed Lucy's random path through the manor until we rounded a corner and came upon an older man in his nightrobes who looked like he wasn't quite sure what to do with the crying little girl wrapped tight around him.

"You children are one shenanigan shy of sleeping in the stable!" Mrs. Macready's voice preceded her as she ran up to us and immediately stopped at the sight of the man. "Professor."

I put a hand to my mouth. We were in trouble now.

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Macready said. "I told them you were not to be disturbed."

"It's all right, Mrs. Macready," the professor told her. "I'm sure there's an explanation." He gently took Lucy and steered her to Mrs. Macready. "But first of all, I think this one is in need of a little hot chocolate."

In a surprising show of gentleness, Mrs. Macready wrapped an arm around Lucy and led her in the direction of the kitchen. I quickly stepped after them, saying, "I'll go with you, if that's okay." Mrs. Macready nodded and I followed them down to the kitchen. I took Lucy from the housekeeper and guided her over to the little table where I had eaten dinner just the night before. Had all of this really happened in only a day?

Mrs. Macready set about warming some milk and finding the cocoa powder, while I found a washcloth and soaked it in warm water to wash off Lucy's face. I pulled up the other chair next to her and wrapped my arms around the younger girl.

"This is why I will never have children," Mrs. Macready muttered as she set two cups and saucers in front of us and proceeded to pour hot chocolate into both. "Always shouting and crying and running. Why the professor agreed to take you lot in I will never understand."

I took the pot of hot chocolate from Mrs. Macready's hands. "If you like, Mrs. Macready," I said, "I can take care of things from here. I know you have a busy day ahead."

"They're always busy taking care of you bunch of ingrates," Mrs. Macready said with a huff but she didn't try to take back the pot. She retied her robe with a hard jerk and marched out of the kitchen.

"Good night, Mrs. Macready!" I called after her.

Lucy sniffed and brought my attention back to her. She had already drunk half her cup of hot chocolate.

"How is it?" I asked.

"Very hot," she replied. "I think I burned my tongue."

"Well, isn't that the only way to enjoy hot chocolate?" I lifted my own cup and drank a good bit of the sweet beverage, scalding my taste buds in the process so they felt like sandpaper now.

"I don't understand why Edmund would do that," Lucy said.

I put my cup down and also took Lucy's from her as her hands were starting to shake. The tears were coming into her eyes again. "Your brother doesn't seem like a very nice person."

Lucy shook her head. "He's always been a little sour, but ever since Dad went to fight in the war, he's been even worse."

"War's terrible like that, isn't it? Going around changing people."

Lucy buried her head in my chest and sobbed, "I just want to go home. I just want everything to be normal again."

I hugged her tight to me as she cried and murmured, "You and me both, Lu. You and me both."

* * *

 **AN: Yay we're back! I'm super duper excited to be working on this story again! I hope you the readers are just as excited for this piece to be going again, too. Got some scenes with both Edmund and Lucy in here. I wasn't expecting Jenna to get this close to Lucy but now they're so adorable nyahhhh. Also, little behind-the-scenes tidbit: I was not planning on Jenna calling Ed an ass it just happened and when I wrote that I burst out laughing, but now I'm scared that it's actually not really that humorous. Yay for being a writer. XD**

 **Anyway, please favorite, follow, review! See you all next week!**


	6. Chapter 6

The next day while Peter went outside to explore the grounds and Susan and Lucy settled in one of the lounge rooms with a few books, I caught Edmund wandering alone in the halls.

"Why did you do that to Lucy?" I demanded.

"Do what?" Edmund said.

"'Do what' are you ser-lying about Narnia!"

Edmund shrugged. "What's it matter to you? You're not our sister. I couldn't handle a third sister anyway."

"It matters to me when your little sister is crying herself to sleep in my arms!"

Edmund looked ashamed for a minute but then he set that stony expression back on his face and shrugged. "Just leave me alone, will you?" He turned to walk away.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "No, not until you help me understand why you seem to like hurting your own sister."

"I said leave me alone!" he shouted at me. He yanked his arm out of my grip and ran away up the stairs.

I made an exasperated noise and had to take a few breaths before I joined Susan and Lucy with a book of my own for the rest of the day.

The day after that Peter went outside again while the rest of us settled in yet another study, but it wasn't long before Peter ran into the room. "Come on, guys, it's beautiful outside! I found some cricket things, let's play a game or something. Don't stay cooped up in here."

We all looked at each other and shrugged. Since Lucy and I weren't really into cricket we took our books outside and settled under a nice tree near the field where Peter set up the cricket pitch. Peter, Edmund, and Susan took turns playing as the bowler, batsman, and wicket keeper. Every now and then Lucy and I would look up from our books to watch them. Susan was surprisingly decent at batting, and Edmund fared better at bowling than batting, while Peter was a jack-of-all-trades. Edmund seemed determined to beat his brother, but that fire soon dimmed from boredom as he started just standing around more and more.

He was spaced out like that when Peter lobbed a pitch, declaring, "Peter winds up, poised to take yet another wicket!" The ball hit Edmund square in the hip, drawing a loud "Ow!" from the younger boy.

"Whoops," Peter said with a teasing smile. "Wake up, Dolly Daydream."

Susan smiled at that, one of the few I had ever seen since I had met her, and threw the ball back to Peter.

"Why can't we play hide and seek again?" Edmund asked.

Lucy and I both looked up at that question, looked at each other, and then rolled our eyes and returned to reading.

"I thought you said it was a kid's game," Peter said.

"Besides," Susan added, "we could all use the fresh air. Peter's right, it's beautiful out here."

"It's not like there isn't air inside," Edmund said.

Peter brought them back to the cricket game. "Are you ready?" I looked up to watch the pitch.

Edmund got into a batting stance and hit the ground with the bat a couple times. "Are you?"

Peter threw the pitch and Edmund hit the ball off a big bounce with a loud crack of the bat. The sound of the hit drew Lucy's attention, too, and we all watched as the ball soared through the air.

Straight throw a medieval-style glass window of the manor.

We all stared at the glaring hole for a moment before everyone started moving. Susan, Peter, and Edmund were up the hill and rushing into the manor in a flash. Lucy and I threw down our books and followed after them. We found them staring at the broken window and at the pieces of a suit of armor that had been knocked down by the ball.

"Well done, Ed," Peter said.

"You bowled it!" Edmund retorted.

An angry voice echoed through the halls: "What on earth is going on?"

"The Macready!" Susan said, our nickname for Mrs. Macready since she was always a monster about everything.

"Come on!" Peter said and we all immediately ran out of the room. We made our way to the opposite end of the wing than where we had heard Mrs. Macready shouting but when we got there it sounded like she was headed that way, too. So we backtracked into the foyer and headed up to the second floor, but then we heard furious footsteps up there, too. We turned around and headed back across the manor, trying various doors along the way to find somewhere to hide. It was only when we finally found an unlocked door that I realized we were in the hallway with the wardrobe room and then suddenly we were rushing into the wardrobe room itself.

Peter slammed the door closed behind us while Edmund was already flinging open the door to the wardrobe, urging, "Come on!"

"You've got to be joking," Susan said.

Loud footsteps changed her mind in an instant. The rest of us followed Edmund into the wardrobe. Peter brought up the rear and we hovered around him, buried in the fur coats, as he pulled the door shut except for a space wide enough for him to peer through. We could hear the footsteps getting louder until they seemed to stop outside the room.

"Get back!" Peter hissed.

The five of us turned into a tangle of bodies and limbs as we scrambled to reach the back corners of the wardrobe. We were shouting as we shoved each other back and I tried to keep everyone quiet. Toes were stepped on and stomachs elbowed until finally two of the Pevensies fell back on their bottoms.

In the gray light that now filtered into the wardrobe I could see Peter and Susan sitting in the edges of a snowdrift and surrounded by pine needles. I could clearly see the disbelief on their faces as they looked at the snow and then twisted around and got to their feet, pushing through the branches into the woods that Lucy, Edmund, and I already knew.

"Impossible," Susan breathed as she stared up at the bare, snow-laden trees.

Lucy and I grinned at each other as we stepped out into Narnia behind them. "Don't worry," she said, and I could practically feel the smugness radiating out from her. "I'm sure it's just your imagination."

"Or a dream," I said. "It could be a dream."

Peter looked a little sheepish. "I don't suppose saying we're sorry would quite cover it."

Lucy and I looked at each other. I shrugged, and Lucy shook her head. I felt her press something cold and wet into my hand. She turned back to Peter. "No, it wouldn't."

Lucy promptly threw a fresh snowball at her elder brother, hitting him almost right in the eye. "But that might!"

I followed her cue and launched my snowball as well, which hit Susan's shoulder. A snowball fight erupted at once even though half the time we were just flinging handfuls of snow at each other. I noticed that Edmund was ignoring us so I threw a snowball at him and caught him in the arm.

"Ow! Stop it!" he whined, bringing the snowy scuffle to a halt.

"You little liar," Peter accused Edmund.

I didn't bother trying to hide a smirk.

"You didn't believe her, either," Edmund countered.

"Apologize to Lucy," Peter ordered.

Edmund was quiet.

"Say you're sorry!" Peter repeated in a raised voice.

"All right!" Edmund said. "I'm sorry."

"That's all right," Lucy said. "Some children just don't know when to stop pretending."

I let out a giggle. Edmund did not look amused.

"Maybe we should go back," Susan suggested.

"But shouldn't we at least take a look around?" Edmund protested, and I gave him a look that he took care to avoid.

"I think Lucy should decide," Peter declared.

Lucy beamed. "I'd like you all to meet Mr. Tumnus!"

"Then Mr. Tumnus it is," Peter said.

"But we can't go hiking in the snow dressed like this," Susan pointed out.

Peter moved behind her back into the wardrobe a bit. "No, but I'm sure the professor wouldn't mind us using these." He came back out with his arms full of fur coats from the wardrobe and began handing them out to us. "Anyway, if you think about it logically," he said as he presented a coat to Susan, "we're not even taking them out of the wardrobe."

Edmund looked at Peter with dismay when he was given his coat, a particularly fluffy raccoon number. "But that's a girl's coat!"

"I know," Peter said.

I couldn't help smirking and I saw Peter was too as he handed me a dark red coat that may have once been foxes. The hem wasn't too bad but the sleeves drowned my hands. Even though it kept my hands warmer, I hoped they wouldn't get in the way.

Lucy and I set a leisurely pace as we guided the others to the clearing with the lamppost. We told them how Mr. Tumnus had been scared of us humans at our first meeting and how funny the faun's stuttering was.

"Who keeps it lit?" Susan asked, staring at the lamp's flames.

I shrugged. "Don't know. It's not like we're here all the time. Someone could be taking care of it when we're not around."

"Or it's just magic," Lucy said with a smug grin.

"Or it's just magic," I repeated.

Susan rolled her eyes.

We pressed on in the direction of Mr. Tumnus's home. I kept sneaking glances at Peter and Susan to see how they were handling Narnia. Peter seemed to be just as excited as Lucy, and I even caught Susan smiling at the winter wonderland every now and then. As we walked, we shared stories about snow days back home and how they were nothing compared to Narnia. I took care to exclude any modern details, of course. We scooped up snow and tossed it at each other when we came across especially soft drifts. Well, usually just Peter and Lucy. Susan and I were content to enjoy their liveliness and the scenery, while Edmund was in another sour mood. I knew I was going to have to try and keep an eye on him in case he really did try to betray his family to the White Witch.

At one point along our short trek we came to a downhill slope and Peter ran ahead to try and slide down it but the snow ended up getting in his way more than he expected and he just rolled over and over in the slush. When he got up there was snow hanging from his coat and all over his clothes.

"Much good that coat did you," I teased. "Looks like you're just gonna freeze to death after all if you keep that up."

Peter responded by throwing a snowball at me and another snowball fight ensued.

As we drew closer to the cliff where Mr. Tumnus had made his home, Lucy started rambling about all the clutter in his house but a lot of it was books so Susan would find it nice and there was a great fireplace and we would stuff ourselves on tea and cakes and whatever treats Mr. Tumnus could rustle up to feed all five of us on such short notice and…

I saw it first and stopped dead in my tracks. Lucy had been playing a game of trying to step in my footprints as we walked so she ended up bumping right into my back. "Jenna? Why did you…" Lucy came around to the side and then she saw it, too.

The door to Mr. Tumnus's home had been busted open.

"Lu? Jenna?" Peter said.

Lucy bolted toward the door.

"Lucy!" Peter called out as the rest of us took off after her.

We slowed down when we entered Mr. Tumnus's home. Luckily nothing attacked us as we carelessly ran inside. The place was dark and even colder than the woods outside. The faun's knick knacks and possessions were strewn everywhere, but in a more haphazard chaos than the organized mess we had seen before. Several of them had been broken. Books had been knocked down and pulled from their shelves and then torn apart, as well as trampled by the looks of it. The fireplace hadn't been lit for days, and I found Mr. Tumnus's unique flute lying in the hearth, cracked and splintered.

There was no sign of Mr. Tumnus.

* * *

 **AN: Yay now everyone is in Narnia and the big adventure can begin! I hope that everyone is enjoying this piece so far! I'm certainly enjoying writing it. Please feel free to leave some feedback in a review, and if you like what you see, give this story a favorite and follow!**

 **I'm not sure when I'll start seriously working on my next fan fiction, the Atlantis one, but maybe sometime soon. I'd like to get more this of piece done first. So keep an eye out for that!**

 **Thanks for reading everyone! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

"Who would do something like this?" Lucy asked.

The five of us spread out around the faun's eerily cold home, surveying the damage. Even though we tried not to step on the possessions that had mostly already been broken when they were thrown to the floor, Edmund couldn't avoid scraping a large picture frame. Lucy and I looked over to see the portrait of Mr. Tumnus's father that she had so lovingly admired, both glass and paint torn by what looked like claw marks. Lucy looked absolutely devastated.

Peter tore off a parchment that had been hung on the central column and read aloud: "The faun Tumnus is hereby charged with high treason against Her Imperial Majesty, Jadis, Queen of Narnia, for comforting her enemies and fraternizing with humans. Signed, Maugrim, Captain of the Secret Police. Long live the Queen."

A large paw print was stamped next to Maugrim's signature. I looked back at the slashed portrait. Were these secret police some kind of…animals?

Susan took the notice and examined it herself. "All right. Now we really should go back."

"But what about Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy cried.

"If he was arrested just for being with a human, I don't think there's much we can do," Susan told her.

"No, you don't get it," I said.

"We're the humans!" Lucy exclaimed. "Jenna and me! She must've found out he helped us."

I automatically looked at Edmund, who was looking down at his feet again. He'd been with the White Witch. Could he have told her? He had seemed pretty forthcoming from what I had overheard.

"Maybe we could call the police," Peter suggested.

Susan pointed at the parchment. "These are the police."

"Don't worry, Lu," Peter reassured her. "We'll think of something."

"Why?" Edmund put in. "I mean, he's a criminal."

I was about to give him a piece of my mind (again) when a noise outside stopped me. A bird started chirping loudly and in the middle I could've sworn I heard a _psssst_ , making us all turn to look outside.

"Did that bird just _psst_ us?" Susan asked.

Peter led us back out into the snow. As we came out a sparrow flew in front of us and off into the trees, chirping along the way. A moment later, the rustling started. It was hard to pinpoint where it was coming from, and the noise seemed to echo around the woods. We instinctively bunched together as the noise, which was starting to sound like footsteps, grew louder and louder.

Then a brown head popped out from behind a rock.

"It…it's a beaver," Lucy said.

The beaver slowly waddled toward us and Peter began to cluck and call out, "Here, boy," holding out his hand.

The beaver eyed him and then said, "I ain't gonna smell it if that's what you want."

Wait. _Said?_

My eyes widened and I shook my head. Why was I surprised? If there were fauns and dwarves here in Narnia, why not talking animals?

"Oh, sorry." Peter withdrew his hand, thrown off just like the rest of us. Well, except for Lucy, who was giggling.

"Lucy Pevensie?" the beaver asked.

Lucy immediately stopped giggling and stepped forward. The beaver handed her a small piece of cloth.

"Hey that's the hankie I gave to Mr. Tum-"

"Tumnus," the beaver confirmed. "He got it to me just before they took him."

"Is he all right?" Lucy asked.

The beaver hesitated, then whispered, "Further in." He turned and loped into the woods.

Lucy, Peter, and I automatically began following him before Susan stopped us. "What are you doing?"

Edmund joined her. "She's right. How do we know we can trust him?"

 _How do we know we can trust you?_ I wanted to ask, but held my tongue.

"He said he knows the faun," Peter replied.

"He's a beaver," Susan stated. "He shouldn't be saying anything!"

Okay, she had a point there.

"Everything all right?" The beaver had returned when we hadn't immediately followed him.

"Yes," Peter answered. "We're just talking."

The beaver started whispering again. "That's better left for safer quarters."

"He means the trees," Lucy explained and I nodded.

Some silent agreement punctuated with a few sighs was reached, and we all set off after the beaver.

We traipsed through the woods, now quiet and somber instead of laughing and playful. The beaver led us into a ravine carved between two of the soaring crags further down from Tumnus's cave. He set a quick pace, telling us that we didn't want to get caught outside after dark. Icicles and snow decorated the rock and the wind would blow small flurries onto us from drifts at the top of the cliffs.

As the warm orange light of sunset began to filter into the ravine we came out onto the top of a hill looking down on a frozen river. A large pile of wood with a light and smoke coming out sat in the middle of a tiny dam.

"Ah, blimey!" Beaver exclaimed. "Looks like the old girl's got the kettle on. Nice cup o' Rosy Lee."

"It's lovely," Lucy complimented.

"Nah, it's merely a trifle," Beaver insisted. "Still plenty to do, ain't quite finished it yet. It'll look the business when it is, though."

Beaver led us down from the cliffs to the frozen dam, checking back on us to make sure we didn't slip on the rocks or ice. As we approached the structure of sticks and snow light suddenly spilled out from the entrance and a female voice called out, "Beaver, is that you? I've been worried sick!" A slender beaver padded out, saying, "If I find you've been out with Badger again, I–"

She stopped short when she got a look at us behind Beaver. "Oh! Well, those aren't badgers." She walked up to us with what looked like a big grin. "Oh, I never thought I'd live to see this day."

She looked over at Beaver. "Look at my fur. You couldn't have given me ten minutes warning?"

"I'd have given a week if I thought it would've helped," Beaver chuckled.

"Oh, come inside," Mrs. Beaver told us, "and we'll see if we can't get you some food." She paused to give Beaver a look. "And some civilized company."

Beaver chuckled again and waved us in. Mrs. Beaver was already scurrying about inside, dishes clanking, chattering about the mess and trying to get Beaver to help around the dam more. We left our coats in a pile to the side and Lucy, Peter, and Susan took seats at the table with the two beavers. Since there wasn't really any other room at the table I sat on a stool next to the coats and Edmund sat on the steps leading to the door.

After we had warmed up and filled our stomachs with Mrs. Beaver's soup and bread, we got down to business. Beaver recounted to us how the last time he visited Tumnus the faun told him about Lucy and gave him the hankie. That night the police took him away.

"Isn't there anything we can do to help Tumnus?" Peter asked.

"They'll have taken him to the Witch's house," Beaver said. "And you know what they say, there's few that go through them gates that come out again."

"Fish 'n' chips?" Mrs. Beaver interrupted, sliding the plate of food onto the table. She patted Lucy's arm, who was looking discouraged. "But there is hope, dear. Lots of hope."

Beaver almost choked on his drink. "Oh, yeah, there's a right bit more than hope!" His voice grew soft as he stated, "Aslan is on the move."

Even though it felt like I had never heard the name before, I was sure it was in that lost knowledge of the story from when I read myself here. The name stirred my heart and made me feel warm inside. Maybe there was hope. We all looked at each other and knew that we were feeling the same thing.

All of us except for Edmund, who had a strange look on his face. He stood up and asked the obvious question: "Who's Aslan?"

Beaver burst out laughing. "'Who's Aslan?' You cheeky little blighter."

Mrs. Beaver nudged him and he stopped laughing as he saw our confused expressions. "You don't know, do you?"

Peter shrugged. "Well, we haven't exactly been here very long."

"Well, he's only the king of the whole wood," Beaver explained. "The top geezer. The real king of Narnia."

"He's been away for a long while," Mrs. Beaver said.

"But he's just got back!" Beaver continued. "And he's waiting for you near the Stone Table!"

"He's waiting for us?" Lucy repeated.

"You're blooming joking!" He turned to Mrs. Beaver. "They don't even know about the prophecy!"

"Well, then…" Mrs. Beaver gestured for her mate to continue.

Beaver sighed. "Look. Aslan's return, Tumnus's arrest, the secret police, it's all happening because of you!"

"You're blaming us?" Susan said.

"No!" Mrs. Beaver assured us. "Not blaming. Thanking you."

"There's a prophecy," Beaver began. "When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits at Cair Paravel in throne, the evil time will be over and done."

"You know that doesn't really rhyme," Susan pointed out. I rolled my eyes.

"I know it don't, you're kinda missing the point!" Beaver replied.

Mrs. Beaver took over explaining. "It has long been foretold that two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve will defeat the White Witch and restore peace to Narnia."

I shifted on my stool. I was the odd one out, but I didn't say anything. After all, I wasn't related to the Pevensies, so of course I wouldn't be a part of the prophecy.

"And you think we're the ones?" Peter said.

"Well you'd better be 'cause Aslan's already fitted out your army," Beaver told us.

"Our army?" Lucy echoed.

A small noise drew my attention away from the dining table and to the door. I saw that Edmund had disappeared from his spot on the stairs and the door was slightly ajar. Everyone else was focused on the conversation so I quietly grabbed my coat and slipped up the stairs into the freezing night.

There was enough of a moon to shed some light on our surroundings. I could barely pick out traces of footsteps, the indents in the snow already filling up again. I set off after them at a quick pace back up the incline, and not far into the trees I could make out someone else trudging through the snow ahead of me.

"Edmund!" I shouted. He turned and saw me but then turned right back again and started climbing at a faster pace.

"Wait! Edmund! Stop!" I yelled, speeding up myself. I finally managed to get close enough to grab his arm and force him to stop and turn around again. He didn't have his coat since he wouldn't have been able to grab it without me noticing, so his arms were crossed as he tried to stop shivering from the wind that had blown up.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked.

"None of your business," Edmund retorted, yanking his arm out of my grip and starting back up the hill.

I stayed a step behind him. "You're going to see _her_ , aren't you?"

Edmund didn't respond.

"Are you crazy? You heard–"

Edmund suddenly spun around. "Leave me alone, Jenna! I'm done with being bossed around and ignored!"

Before I could respond, Edmund shoved me away from him. I tumbled backwards and rolled back down the hill, fur coat and powdery snow spilling over me in a blur until a snowdrift finally stopped my momentum.

"Edmund! Jenna!"

I felt myself being pulled to my feet and I looked up to see Peter and Susan on either side of me, with Lucy looking at me with concern and Beaver off to the side, sniffing the air.

"Are you okay, Jenna?" Susan asked.

"What happened?" Lucy said.

I was still catching my breath from rolling down the hill and answered between gulps of air, "I tried to stop him…he pushed me…I'm sorry."

The Pevensies immediately took off again up the hill, with Beaver yelling at them to stop. I hiked up my coat and ran back up the hill, Beaver at my side.

At the top of the hill a frozen wasteland, void of trees, lay in front of us, and on the other side stood a towering castle of ice, glowing with an eerie blue light from within. Just looking at it made me shiver even with my warm coat. I squinted and saw that one of the giant doors was open, and someone was walking inside.

"Edmund!" Lucy yelled, her brother's name echoing around us.

"Shh, they'll hear ya!" Beaver cautioned.

Peter started running forward but Beaver leaped on him with a loud "No!" and knocked him down. "Get off me!" Peter said.

"You're playing into her hands!" Beaver exclaimed.

"We can't just let him go!" Susan said.

"He's our brother!" Lucy added.

"He's the bait!" Beaver said. "The Witch wants all four of ya!"

Again I was uncomfortably aware of how I wasn't supposed to be a part of this. My very presence in Narnia was wrong.

"Why does she want all of us?" Peter asked.

"To stop the prophecy from coming true," Beaver answered. "To kill ya!"

A quiet grinding sound reached our ears and we looked down at the castle again to see the doors closing behind Edmund.

He was the Witch's now.

* * *

 **AN: Hello hello hello! Long time no see! I hope all you readers have been doing well! I've finally returned to this story. I finished my sophomore year of college almost a month ago and boy was it a whirlwind. Now that I'm home for the summer one of my goals is to finish this fan fiction! A big thank you to everyone who favorited and followed it while I was on hiatus for school.  
We've returned to find Jenna and the Pevensies meeting the Beavers and Edmund heading off to join his oh-so-beloved White Witch. In the next, chapter they'll have to escape the wolves and start traveling across Narnia to meet Aslan.  
I've pretty much thrown out my previous schedule of updating every Tuesday and just gonna shoot for once a week, preferably sometime on the weekend. Who knows, maybe I'll post twice a week every now and then? It all depends on how much I get written at a time.  
Thank you again, everyone, for sticking with this story and reading it! Please feel free to review and send me feedback of any kind. Until next time! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

"This is all your fault," Susan accused, glaring at her older brother.

"My fault?" Peter repeated.

"None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me in the first place!" Susan shouted.

"Oh so you knew this would happen."

"I didn't know what would happen, which is why we should've left while we still could!"

"Stop it!" Lucy yelled. "This isn't going to help Edmund."

"She's right," Beaver said. "Only Aslan can help your brother now."

Peter grimaced. "Then take us to him."

We were all quiet as we made our way back down the hill to the Beavers' dam. I brought up the rear, watching Peter hold Lucy's hand to make sure she didn't trip. I tried to squash down the guilt rising in me, but eventually I couldn't bear it anymore and I blurted out, "I'm sorry!"

Everyone turned around to look at me.

"I knew Edmund had talked to the White Witch. I should have kept a closer eye on him." I looked down at my feet. "I guess, I thought maybe he would do the right thing…"

Lucy let go of Peter's hand and hugged me. "It's okay, Jenna. We know you tried to stop him."

I hugged her back. I couldn't help but think that we could be heading back to the Professor's manor right now, but instead we were going to rely on talking animals to take us to this "Aslan" in the hopes we could get Edmund back.

If the White Witch didn't do something to him before that.

The eerie silence was broken by a faint howl.

"Was that…a wolf?" I asked.

More howls rose from behind us, much louder than the first.

"The Secret Police," Beaver breathed.

Then the barking started.

"Run! Run!" Beaver shouted.

I grabbed Lucy's hand and we took off, half-sliding, half-running down the rest of the hill. Our momentum carried us onto the frozen dam and we burst into the Beavers' home, Beaver crying, "Hurry, Mother! They're after us!"

Mrs. Beaver sprung into action. "Right then," she murmured as she hurried over to the pantry.

"What's she doing?" Peter asked as Susan also began gathering up sundries.

"Oh, you'll be thanking me later," Mrs. Beaver. "It's a long journey and Beaver gets pretty cranky when he's hungry."

"I'm cranky now!" Beaver exclaimed.

Mrs. Beaver and Susan started wrapping up the food in cloth. "Do you think we'll need jam?" Susan asked.

"Only if the Witch does toast," Peter replied.

Rough snarling from outside the dam made us all jump.

The wolves were here.

Suddenly there was the sound of wood snapping as the wolves started digging at the sides of the dam.

"Come on, this way!" Beaver threw open a cupboard and disappeared inside. The rest of us followed without hesitation. I managed to close the door behind us a second before I slid down the hole in the floor of the cupboard into an underground tunnel.

I landed on my feet with a small stumble but regained my balance within a few steps and then we were off. The Beavers led us through the winding tunnel, which wasn't quite tall enough for Peter and Susan to stand up straight in. I also had to duck a little to avoid scraping my head. Peter was carrying a torch and Susan, a lantern, as we ran behind the Beavers, and Lucy and I helped each other along.

"Badger and me dug this," Beaver explained. "Comes out right near his place."

"You told me it led to your mum's!" Mrs. Beaver said indignantly.

Lucy tripped suddenly and I cried out "Lucy!" and caught her before she went sprawling in the dirt.

Everyone paused as Lucy recovered, and in that moment we heard the chorus of barks and howls echoing around us.

"They're in the tunnels," Lucy whispered.

We ran at an even faster pace, ignoring the bumps on our heads from hitting the ceiling in our haste. We came upon what looked like a dead end, but then looking up we could see a hole leading back up to the surface.

"You should've brought a map!" Mrs. Beaver cried.

"There wasn't room next to the jam!" Beaver told her before leaping up and scrabbling through the exit hole. Peter gave Mrs. Beaver a boost and then motioned for the rest of us to go ahead, illuminating the hole with the torch. Once I had climbed in after Susan and Lucy I heard him throw the torch to the ground and stomp on it to put it out before climbing up himself.

We squeezed out back into the snow-lined woods of the Narnian night. The beavers were already pushing at a few barrels standing next to the exit hole. Peter grabbed them and heaved them in front of the hole, blocking it and hopefully giving us some extra time to escape the wolves.

There was a loud thud behind us and we turned to see that Lucy had fallen backwards over what looked like some small stones. I leaned down to help Lucy up and then I realized the stones weren't just ordinary stones. They were shaped like a family of squirrels, frozen in terrible expressions of fear.

They were too lifelike to be man-made statues. These were real squirrels that had been turned to stone.

I brushed some of the snow off of Lucy's coat and heard Mrs. Beaver murmur, "I'm so sorry, dear." Across the small clearing, there was another stone animal, a badger with his paws raised in hopeless protection, his face frozen in terror like the squirrels.

 _Badger and me dug this. Comes out right near his place._

"He was my best mate," Beaver said.

It was like we couldn't stop seeing the statues then. A wild dog with fat, sagging cheeks and ears cowering with its tail between its legs. A pig poking its head out of a hollow that looked like it didn't even know what hit it.

Peter broke the heavy silence at last. "What happened here?"

"This is what becomes of those who cross the Witch," a strange voice answered. A fox stepped out of the shadows in the rocks in front of us.

Beaver's anger was palpable as he marched forward, Mrs. Beaver reaching out to hold him back. "You take one more step, traitor, and I'll chew you to splinters."

"Relax," the fox said as he leaped down from his perch. "I'm one of the good guys."

"Yeah? Well you look an awful lot like one of the bad ones," Beaver countered.

The Pevensies and I had unconsciously drawn close together, Peter wrapping his arms around Susan and I while I held tight to Lucy.

"An unfortunate family resemblance," Fox explained. "But we can argue breeding later. Right now we've got to move."

The howling and scrabbling sounds behind the barrels made our minds up for us.

"What did you have in mind?" Peter asked.

The fox smiled and loped over to a cluster of trees. "Climb up these. Maugrim and his so-called police may be scary, but they're not the smartest lot, especially in the heat of the chase."

Peter and Susan boosted Lucy and I up one tree while the Beavers scrabbled up another. Fox's head swung between us and the barrels blocking the tunnel, which were starting to shift. "Hurry," he hissed. "And keep quiet no matter what."

We settled in branches about halfway up the tree, high enough up that the wolves wouldn't see us unless they purposefully looked, but not too high that the climb back down would be difficult. Peter held Lucy close to him on one branch while Susan and I held tight to each other on another branch on the other side of the trunk. The Beavers were also clinging to each other in the next tree over.

Fox barely had enough time to sweep a shallow layer of snow over our tracks with his fluffy tail before the barrels were shoved away from the hole and the wolves came pouring out of the tunnel. They immediately surrounded Fox, who showed only a hint of fear before putting on a pleasant face and saying, "Greeting, gents. Lost something, have we?"

"Don't patronize me!" one of the wolves snapped. His square gait and the way the other wolves watched him suggested he was the alpha. Maugrim, Fox had called him.

"I know where your allegiance lies," Maugrim growled at Fox. "We're looking for some humans."

Fox laughed with (fake) disbelief. "Humans? Here in Narnia? That's a valuable bit of information, don't you think?"

Without warning one of the other wolves grabbed Fox around the middle, holding him tight between vicious fangs. Lucy inhaled sharply and Peter covered her mouth before she could cry out and give away our position.

"Your reward is your life," Maugrim taunted. "It's not much, but still. Where are the fugitives?"

We could hear Fox's whimpers even from all the way up in the trees, and I stuck one of my fur sleeves in my mouth to muffle my own whimpering.

 _Keep quiet no matter what._

Fox waited so long to answer I was afraid he would actually betray us, but at least he replied, "North. They ran north." He hung his head as if he was ashamed of his "betrayal."

Maugrim didn't seem to question the information at all and ordered, "Smell them out."

The wolf that held Fox in his mouth flung him aside and turned to follow Maugrim with the rest of their pack. They slid over the snow and forest floor like shadows, small growls and barks the only things giving away their position. Fox lifted his head to watch them go, and then let it drop onto the snow. We leaned out to look down at him, and I could see dark spots of blood staining the snow around him. I stuck my sleeve in my mouth again, and I noticed that Peter refused to take his hand from Lucy's mouth.

We waited until several minutes had passed after we heard the last echo of the last bark before we carefully climbed back down to the clearing. Peter and Beaver got to work building a fire, while Mrs. Beaver crawled around the clearing picking herbs. Susan rummaged through the rucksack we had brought to see if there was anything that might help. Lucy and I gently picked up Fox, who whined softly at the motion, and carried him over to the tiny fire pit. Lucy stroked his fur, careful to avoid the bite marks, and I gathered up some snow to press against the wounds to absorb the blood and hopefully numb the pain.

Mrs. Beaver took over a few moments later and told Lucy and me not to worry and get good and warmed up. Susan had pulled over some crates for us to sit on by the fire, which was now burning brightly, and handed out bread and cheese. Beaver stood close by Mrs. Beaver, ready to help if necessary.

Fox told us what had happened to the stone animals while Mrs. Beaver looked to his wounds. "They were helping Tumnus. The Witch got here before I did." He gave a small yelp as Mrs. Beaver hit a sore spot.

"Are you gonna be all right?" I asked, his cries of pain making my heart ache.

Fox grinned. "I wish I could say their bark was worse than their bite." Another involuntary bark.

"Stop squirming!" Mrs. Beaver chided. "You're worse than Beaver on bath day."

"Worst day of the year," whispered Beaver. I couldn't help giggling.

As soon as Mrs. Beaver had finished rubbing in the herbal ointment she had made Fox wriggled out of her paws and stood up. "Thank you for your kindness, but that's all the cure I have time for."

"You're leaving?" Lucy asked.

"It has been a pleasure, my Queen," Fox replied, lowering himself into a graceful bow, "and an honor, but time is short and Aslan himself has asked me to gather more troops."

The beavers gasped. "You've seen Aslan? What's he like?"

Fox smiled and his eyes twinkled with something other than the flames' reflection. "Like everything we've ever heard. You'll be glad to have him by your side in the battle against the Witch."

"But we're not planning on fighting any witch," Susan protested.

Fox turned to Peter. "But surely, King Peter, the prophecy!"

"We can't go to war without you," Beaver added.

War? These animals were seriously expecting us to fight a war? We were just kids!

 _They're not expecting you to fight, Jenna_ , I harshly reminded myself. _They're expecting the Pevensies to fight. You're not even supposed to be here._

Peter shook his head and sighed. "We just want our brother back."

 _And I just want to go home._

* * *

 **AN: Yay another chapter! The Witch has let the wolves out and the chase begins. Aren't Lucy and Jenna just the cutest? I don't think I expected them to become such good friends but now Jenna's like that big sister Susan used to be (before she got boring ;) ).  
I've already got the next few chapters written and I'm trying to stay ahead or at least on top of this story so that I can post 2 chapters a week hopefully. In addition to Saturday, I think new chapters will be posted on either Tuesday or Wednesday.  
Please favorite, follow, review, all that good stuff! Thanks, everyone! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

We slept that night among the stone animals, letting the fire slowly die away. Peter, Susan, and Beaver took turns keeping watch. Lucy and I volunteered to take a watch shift, too, but Mrs. Beaver told us we would be most helpful by getting lots of sleep because we were going to be doing a lot of traveling and it wouldn't do for us to get tired midday. Lucy and I cuddled up together against one of the trees so we weren't sleeping entirely on snow, our coats wrapped tightly around ourselves. Mrs. Beaver plopped herself across our laps, acting as another source of heat to keep us warm through the night once the fire went out.

In the morning we quickly and quietly cleaned up the campsite, piling snow on top of the fire pit and paying our respects to the animals that had met their stony fate there. Beaver lingered quite a bit in front of Badger, and Mrs. Beaver had to gently lead him away from the statue.

The sky was fluffy gray with clouds and I wondered if it would snow again, but Beaver noted that the clouds were thin and still let through plenty of sunlight. No snow today, a good day for trekking across Narnia.

The beavers took the lead, of course, and we followed them through the trees, leaving behind the rocks and cliffs. The ground began to slope upward and although it was a gentle incline, after a few hours of it my legs were beginning to burn. I made a mental note to try and start exercising more once I got home.

 _Home._ Every step we took brought us closer to Aslan, the King of Narnia. Everyone seemed confident he would be able to help us get Edmund back. I hoped that maybe he could tell me how to get home, too. Maybe there was a magical bed that could take me back to my world. I would fall asleep in it, and then wake up back in my own bed, and this whole thing would've been a dream. But then, I had a hard time remembering dreams, and I sincerely hoped that Narnia wouldn't become just a faint sense of snow and wonder.

Eventually the land leveled out again and my legs welcomed the easier road. Then the trees started thinning and I could catch glimpses of sun and sky and mountains in the distance between their trunks. The end of the woods seemed to sneak up on us, and the beavers led us out onto a narrow cliff, pausing to let us take in the breathtaking view.

More forests lay below us, split down the middle by an enormous river that looked to be covered in ice like the woods were with snow. More cliffs and mountains rose to either side of the landscape that awaited us. The sun peeked out from just below the clouds, making the puffs of gray blush with pink and orange, as well as casting a soft golden sheen over Narnia's winter. The sun still wasn't too high above the horizon. We had made good time so far, with well over half the day left.

Beaver pointed out toward the sun. "Now Aslan's camp is near the Stone Table, just across the frozen river."

"River?" Peter repeated.

"Oh the river's been frozen solid for a hundred years," Mrs. Beaver reassured us.

"It's so far," Peter said, speaking what was on all of our minds. I could almost hear my legs start crying.

"It's the world, dear," Mrs. Beaver said. "Did you expect it to be small?"

Susan grimaced. "Smaller." She set off again, more interested in actually reaching our destination than despairing over how far away it was. Probably a good philosophy.

The beavers scouted out a somewhat easy path down the cliff we were on, with only a few vertical drops. Peter would always go first and help the rest of us down when we came to those bits. The climb down didn't take long, though, and we headed east again through a small wood that was more like a splattering of trees in the snow than a real forest.

The trees thickened, and thinned, and thickened again as the hours passed and we kept moving forward. Whenever we stopped to take a break it was only for a few minutes. There were no snowball fights or chasing each other in circles this time. Had that really been only one day ago when we walked to Tumnus's, laughing and playing in the snow? A wave of fatigue rolled through me. _One foot in front of the other. One step at a time. You can do it, Jenna._

Being the smallest, Lucy had the hardest time keeping up, so Peter and Susan took turns giving her piggyback rides for short stretches. Sometimes when she was walking on her own feet she would hold my hand, and I would try to help her keep up with the pace. None of us really talked, not wanting to waste our breath on words instead of steps.

The sun, now just a hazy glow behind the clouds, had moved past its zenith and begun to sink back down toward the horizon when the trees abruptly ended. We found ourselves on the edge of a great plain of unbroken snow. On the other side was a green blur suggesting another forest ahead. We stopped to have a quick lunch of more bread and cheese, and the beavers announced that once we crossed this plain and got through that forest beyond, we would come to the frozen river. The food and the report of considerable progress energized us and we started the journey across the snowy plain at a vigorous pace, our fatigue momentarily forgotten.

Our spirit didn't last too long, though, as what felt like days passed as we trudged across the bare blanket of snow, even though the sun had only sunk a little lower in the sky. Our little cluster began to string out in a line: the beavers up front, followed by Susan, Peter, and then Lucy and I as each of our paces slowed. The green blur ahead of us had somewhat grown more defined so that we could actually call it trees, but it felt like we weren't getting any closer to it.

Beaver would look back at us every now and then and tell us to hurry up, pick up the pace, stop lollygagging, and we would jog a little to catch up with the animals. But we would always just end up back in our line. At one point Beaver looked back at us and called out, "Come on, humans, while we're still young!"

Susan paused to wait for Peter, Lucy, and I, and Peter squatted down to let Lucy onto his back, even though she hadn't asked for him to carry her (although I could tell she was desperate to get off her feet). "If he tells us to hurry one more time," he said, "I'm gonna turn him into a big, fluffy hat."

"Hurry up! Come on!" Beaver shouted.

"He is getting a little bossy," Lucy commented.

"I think he'd look better as a hand muff than a hat," I teased.

"No! Behind you!" The shrill tone of Mrs. Beaver's voice broke the lighthearted atmosphere and we spun around to see a small cloud of snow rising behind us and dark shapes approaching at an alarming speed. The sound of bells jingling finally reached our ears.

"It's her!" Mrs. Beaver cried.

"Run!" Beaver yelled.

Peter repeated the order as he let Lucy down and he and I each took one of her hands. Adrenaline pumped through us now, all fatigue forgotten as we caught up to the beavers. Lucy was half-running, half-being-pulled-along by Peter and me. While just a little bit ago it seemed like we would never reach the forest the white pines suddenly loomed in front of us and we dashed between trees and rocks.

Beaver found a small alcove in the rocks below us, hidden from sight from the way we had come and so hopefully from our pursuer. "Inside!" Beaver yelled. "Dive! Dive!" We slid and swung ourselves into the alcove, pressing up against the rock behind us and trying to make ourselves as small as possible.

Beaver had barely pulled his tail in when we heard jingling bells, pawing hooves, and sled runners thundering above our heads. The sounds stopped as the sleigh seemed to come to a halt. Footsteps followed and some snow was pushed off of the overhang to fall in front of us and we all backed up a little more even though there was no more room. A tall shadow rose against a boulder buried in snow in front us, stayed there for a moment, and then moved on.

We waited a minute to see if the shadow and footsteps would return, but nothing came for us. Beaver sniffed at the air, trying to catch any strange scents.

"Maybe she's gone," Lucy whispered.

Peter made to get up. "I suppose I'll go look."

"No!" Beaver immediately responded. "You're worth nothing to Narnia dead." He started to pad outside the tiny cave.

"Well neither are you, Beaver," Mrs. Beaver said.

"Thanks, sweetheart," Beaver said, taking her paw for a moment before hopping out and climbing back up the rocks.

We waited again, every nerve on high alert. Mrs. Beaver kept making concerned noises, alternating between worrying about Beaver and shushing us even though she was making the most noise. We heard footsteps again and we all tensed.

Beaver suddenly popped his head down into the alcove, making Lucy and me both shriek. We all sighed with relief to see Beaver unharmed and apparently excited about something.

"Come out! Come out!" he exclaimed. "I hope you've all been good 'cause there's someone here to see ya!" Beaver promptly pulled himself back up and out of sight. Peter and Lucy crawled out of the cave with Susan and I right behind them, Mrs. Beaver reminding us to watch our heads.

Waiting for us was indeed a sleigh with reindeer standing obediently in front of it, but it wasn't the Witch's white chariot and steeds. This sleigh was wooden and warmly colored, and the reindeer looked like the typical brown creatures of their name. Beside the sleigh stood an elderly but jovial-looking man with a men of white hair, complete with long beard. He wore an old-fashioned dark red coat, fancier in style than our fur ones. When he saw us he grinned and laughed, a deep belly laugh reminiscent of a favorite grandfather.

Lucy was the first to approach him. "Merry Christmas, sir."

"It certainly is, Lucy, since you have arrived," the man replied.

 _Wait a minute, Christmas?_ Red coat, white beard, sleigh with reindeer…no way.

Susan shared my disbelief. "Look, I've put up with a lot since I got here, but this-"

"We thought you were the Witch," Peter said, cutting off his sister.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry about that," the man – Santa Claus? No, Father Christmas seemed more fitting – said. "But in my defense, I have been driving one of these longer than the Witch."

"I thought there was no Christmas in Narnia," Susan said.

"No, not for a long time," Father Christmas explained. "But the hope that you have brought, Your Majesties, is finally starting to weaken the Witch's power. Still, I dare say you could do with these." He turned back to his sleigh and heaved out a giant bag from the back seat, plopping it down on the snow and pulling it open. Plush animals peeked out as well as some other trinkets.

"Presents!" Lucy exclaimed with delight, rushing forward to look at Father Christmas's bag of goodies.

The iconic man chuckled at Lucy's enthusiasm. He bent down and held out a small bottle in a leather pouch that could be tied around a belt. "The juice of the fire-flower. One drop will cure any injury." As Lucy accepted the present Father Christmas held out a sheathed dagger attached to a belt. "And though I hope you never have to use it."

Lucy took the dagger as well. "Thank you, sir, but I think I could be brave enough."

Father Christmas smiled. "I'm sure you could. But battles are ugly affairs."

Lucy stepped back and Father Christmas turned to pull out a bow and quiver full of arrows. Both were beautifully crafted, the bow's wood with golden details gleaming and the quiver a smooth white with lovely engravings. The arrows' fletchings were a bright scarlet. "Susan," he summoned, and the older Pevensie girl obediently stepped forward.

Father Christmas handed her the bow and quiver. "Trust in this bow, and it will not easily miss."

"What happened to 'battles are ugly affairs'?" Susan said.

Her response made Father Christmas chuckle. "Though you don't seem to have a problem making yourself heard," he gave her a curved horn carved similarly to the quiver, "blow on this and wherever you are, help will come."

Susan thanked him and stepped back beside Lucy.

"Peter." It was the eldest Pevensie's turn. "The time to use these may be near at hand."

Peter accepted a longsword and shield, that latter of which was silver with a red lion emblem printed on it. Peter unsheathed the sword, the metal gleaming as we looked at it in awe. He looked at Father Christmas and sheathed the sword again. "Thank you, sir."

Father Christmas then turned to look at me and my heart stopped. "Jenna Lockley." He beckoned me forward from where I had backed off to stand by the beavers. "Did you really think I would not have something for you?"

 _No, because I'm not supposed to be here_. But I stayed silent and just shrugged in reply.

Father Christmas handed me a small leather bag with the pouch open so that I could see what lay inside. I pulled out a leather-bound book, but when I flipped through the pages they were blank. Then I noticed the sticks of graphite. It was a journal and pencils.

"It's beautiful, sir," I murmured, running my fingers over the lion engraved into the back cover of the journal, matching the one on Peter's shield.

"Memories are important. Don't lose them." Father Christmas tapped the journal with those words. Then he held out another sheathed sword. This one was slenderer than Peter's and it felt wonderfully light as I took it. I drew the sword out of its sheath a little and realized that this blade resembled a rapier more than Peter's longsword.

"But, sir-"

Father Christmas held up a hand to stop me. He spoke softly, "You doubt yourself, Jenna, but you are here for a reason." He smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back at his kindness as I slid the sword back into place.

"Thank you, sir."

Father Christmas addressed all of us then. "These are tools, not toys. Bear them well and wisely." He clapped his hands together. "Now, I must be off. Winter is almost over, and things do pile up when you've been gone a hundred years." He closed up the giant sack and hoisted it back into the sleigh. As he lifted his own bulk into the front seat he declared, "Long live Aslan. And Merry Christmas!"

With that, he snapped the reins and the reindeer leaped into action, bells jingling on their harnesses.

"Merry Christmas! Good-bye! Thank you again!" we called after him.

Lucy whipped around to give a smug grin at Susan. "Told you he was real."

I snorted and quickly covered my face as Susan scowled at me.

Peter wasn't paying attention. "He said winter was almost over. You know what that means." He looked at each one of us, but none of us were quite sure what he was getting at, although I could feel my stomach already starting to sink.

"No more ice," Peter stated.

Our eyes widened as we finally understood.

The river.

* * *

 **AN: Yay Santa Claus! I knew I wanted Jenna to have some kind of blade but I wanted it to be different from Peter's, and then I was inspired by Asuna from SAO and thought it would be cool to give her a rapier. In my head Jenna's rapier is a little bigger/thicker so it has a little more cutting power, but it's definitely closer to the rapier family than the longsword family. I did a bit of research and rapiers have evolved throughout history anyway so I think I can get away with it. :p**

 **I've already got Saturday's chapter written so you can expect an on-time update then, where Jenna and the Pevensies will have to cross the frozen - or not-so-frozen - river!**

 **As always, review + favorite + follow as you'd like! Thanks for reading! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

We didn't waste any more time getting to the river, practically running the rest of the way. Even Lucy managed to keep up. We bounded through the woods until we came to a small valley and down below there it was, a wide expanse of mesmerizing blue and white. We'd managed to come out at one of the fall lines of the river, with a waterfall frozen into layers of icicles powdered with snow rising above us to our left.

The frozen river was already melting. The ice was breaking apart with loud cracks and moans, the freed water sweeping floes downriver in roaring rapids. There was still a decently sized expanse of ice at the base of the waterfall, but if we didn't hurry that would be gone, too.

Peter understood the direness of the situation "We need to cross. Now!"

"Don't beavers make dams?" Lucy proposed.

"I'm not that fast, dear," Beaver responded.

"Come on!" Peter said, grabbing Lucy's hand to start heading down to the river. The beavers and I followed a step behind.

"Wait!" Susan said. "Will you just think about this for a minute?"

"We don't have a minute!" I yelled at her, continuing to slide down the slope with the beavers as Peter and Lucy stopped for their sister.

"I'm just trying to be realistic," Susan said.

"No, you're trying to be smart," Peter countered, "as usual."

Above the fracturing of the ice rose a clear howl. Great, the wolves had caught our scent again. Like we weren't stressed enough already.

The rate the ice was splitting apart had increased alarmingly by the time we made it to the bank of the river. Peter stepped out onto the ice with one foot, and it immediately sunk a little under the weight with a sucking sound, water spraying out from the crack. The water underneath the ice here was already unfreezing and starting to flow again.

Beaver stepped forward. "Wait, maybe I should go first."

"Maybe you should," Peter agreed.

Beaver slid out onto the ice, bobbing his weight along different parts and slapping his tail against the frozen water, seeking out the pieces that were still frozen enough to hold our weight and coax out cracks in the weaker parts.

"You've been sneaking second helpings, haven't you?" Mrs. Beaver called out to him.

"Well you never know which meal's gonna be your last," Beaver answered. "Especially with your cooking."

Once Beaver had made it safely out onto the ice a little ways Peter tentatively led the rest of us onto the melting river. The ice would buckle under us a little but as we followed Beaver it held up under our weight. A dusting of snow helped our footing but there were still slippery spots and at one point Lucy almost slipped, shrieking as Peter pulled her back up.

"If Mum knew what we were doing…" Susan muttered.

"Mum's not here!" Peter told her.

Ice rained down on us from above and when we looked up we saw dark gray fur leaping across the top of the frozen waterfall.

"Run!" Peter yelled.

He didn't have to tell us twice. We threw all caution to the wind as we leaped from floe to floe but we were still only halfway across. A few wolves leapt down in front of us, blocking the way with fierce snarls. We turned around to see the ice starting to break up behind us, triggered early by our weight. More wolves growled at us from the bank there.

We were trapped.

Beaver clawed and hissed at Maugrim as he approached from the far bank. One of the other wolves simply leapt and grabbed Beaver, to the dismay of Mrs. Beaver, and pulled him aside, jaws clamped around his neck and ready to close.

Peter pushed us all behind him and pulled out his new sword, although the blade betrayed how much his hands were shaking.

"Put that down, boy," Maugrim told him. "Someone could get hurt." He slowly walked toward us, forcing us to bunch together and back up.

"Don't worry about me!" Beaver shouted as he struggled under the wolf's teeth. "Run him through!"

Maugrim ignored Beaver. "Leave now while you can, and your brother leaves with you."

Susan stepped up to her brother. "Stop, Peter, maybe we should listen to him!"

Maugrim chuckled. "Smart girl."

"No, Peter, he's bluffing," I said, moving to stand on the other side of our little group and drawing my own sword, pointing it at the wolves who had gathered behind us. "We don't even know if Edmund's still alive."

"Oh, he's alive," Maugrim said. "The Witch has been taking good care of him."

"Don't listen to him!" Beaver yelled, the wolf finally pinning him down with its own body. "Kill him! Kill him now!"

Maugrim just kept coming. "Oh, come on, this isn't your war. All my queen wants is for you to take your family and go."

"Look, just because some man in a red coat hands you a couple of swords doesn't make you heroes! Just drop them!" Susan pleaded.

"You're not helping, Susan!" I shouted at her.

"Don't back down, Jenna! Peter, Narnia needs ya!" Beaver yelled out again. "Gut him while you still have a chance!"

It came to the point where couldn't back away any further. The ice at my feet was already starting to split apart. I felt Peter edge forward, his sword pointed at the alpha wolf's face.

"What's it gonna be, Son of Adam?" Maugrim asked, his head mere feet away from Peter's sword, practically daring the Pevensie boy to make a move. "I won't wait forever, and neither will the river!"

At that moment a low rumbling came from the waterfall and Lucy screamed, "Peter!" We all looked up at the curtain of icicles to see chunks of them falling away and fissures splitting open, releasing sharp streams of previously frozen water.

The waterfall of ice was about to come crashing down right on top of us.

"Hold on to me!" Peter shouted.

Susan and Lucy each took an arm while I sheathed my sword and grabbed hold of the back of Peter's coat with one arm, wrapping the other around Lucy's shoulders. Peter raised his sword high and then plunged it down into the ice floe we were huddled together on, creating an anchor.

With a series of thundering crashes the wall of ice behind us broke apart and came tumbling down. The wolves pinned their ears back as they realized they would be caught in the collapse as well. They didn't have any time to run, though, as the ice and the newly melted river from above the fall line slammed into the ice just behind us. Chunks of ice flew into the air and a wave rose above us from the impact of the waterfall returning to life. We screamed as our little floe was picked up by the wave, as well as the floes the wolves stood on, who scrambled to keep their footing but failed, sliding into the water. The beavers slipped into the water of her own accord.

Then the wave crashed over us and plunged our icy raft under the surface.

The freezing water was a paralyzing shock to my system and I almost let go of Peter and Lucy. _No! Hold on!_ I fixed my grips on Peter and Lucy's coats as the ice floe's buoyancy kicked in and we lurched back into the sunlight. The force of the river had flattened us against the ice and we struggled to pull ourselves up into more secure positions. After being trapped for so long the currents were fighting each other and turned the river into raging rapids. The ice floe rocked and buckled over and under waves. If we weren't already soaked I would've been more irritated by how much we were getting splashed.

As a particularly strong wave hit our frozen raft I felt Lucy shift dangerously under my left arm. I tried to reach around her entire body to pull her closer to me while Peter let go of the sword with one hand to pull her up again by her coat. But then another wave pitched the floe sharply, there was a high-pitched yelp, and my left arm fell flat against the ice.

"Lucy!" I cried and without a second thought I let go of Peter and let myself slide into the river after her. I'd let Edmund get away from me but I was not going to lose Lucy.

It was almost impossible to swim properly in the raging river so I let it carry me along for a few seconds until I could gather my bearings. I didn't think I'd ever been so cold in my life, it felt like even my brain was frozen as I dimly thought that I should ditch my heavy coat. It was too difficult to get it off in the middle of the river, though, and didn't want to waste any time finding Lucy.

My eyes landed on a gray shape in the bright blue – Lucy tumbling through the currents, desperately trying to paddle to the surface. I managed to push myself into a favorable current and swam up to her, avoiding her flailing feet and wrapping one arm around her. Despite the weight of my coat I managed to propel both of us upwards.

Lucy erupted into a harsh coughing fit as we broke the surface, but got ahold of herself and helped direct the two of us to the far bank. We rolled up out of the water as I pushed Lucy up so she could crawl to safety while the river was still tugging at my legs.

As Lucy turned around to help pull me up I felt a strong yank on my coat, stronger than any wave, and then suddenly I was back in the water. I dimly heard Lucy calling my name as I went under but then my attention diverted to the gray and white bundle of fur clawing at my coat and sharp fangs snapping at my face. One of the Witch's wolves – I couldn't tell if it was Maugrim or not – had pulled me back into the river, desperate for some kind of victory.

I punched and kicked at the wolf, my lungs already burning for air. I hadn't been able to properly take in a breath before going back under since the wolf had surprised me. The wolf managed to keep at least one paw on my coat, though. I reached down and managed to draw my rapier, struggling to swing and stab at the wolf in the midst of the rapids. Finally, my sword connected somehow and with a muffled bark the wolf released my coat and was immediately swept away from me.

My lungs and brain were screaming for oxygen. I was all disoriented now after the struggle with the wolf. Which way was up? Where was the shore? Then I heard Lucy still calling my name in the distance, and I saw where sunbeams cut into the water. With a couple flips I righted myself and then with a few large strokes and strong kicks I popped back above the water, gulping down a giant breath of air.

The river helped me out and dumped me onto the far shore unceremoniously. I threw my sword up into the snow and scrambled up after it, small hands helping me a moment later as Lucy reached me. I coughed and gasped, letting oxygen back into my body.

"Are you okay, Jenna? Are you hurt?" Lucy asked.

I nodded and said in a raspy voice, "I'm fine. I'm good." I gave myself a few more moments before standing up and sheathing my rapier. "Come on, the others will be worried." I took Lucy's hand, more for myself than her, and we headed back upriver.

We didn't have to go far before we heard Peter and Susan shouting our names and we spotted them not too long after that. Lucy let go of my hand, wrapping her arms around herself as she ran to her siblings, shouting, "Here! We're here! Has anyone seen my coat?"

The others spun around and their relief was clear as Peter held out Lucy's coat for her to put on, which had stayed in his grasp when Lucy slipped out of it and into the river. "I fell off and Jenna rescued me," she said.

I waved off any thanks as I coughed a bit, my lungs still getting used to processing air again. "Sorry for worrying you."

"Don't you worry, dear," Beaver told Lucy. "Between your brother and Jenna they've got you well looked after."

"And I don't think you'll be needing those coats anymore," Mrs. Beaver added. She and Beaver joined paws and led us into the woods here, heading ever eastward.

Just beyond the tree line, pink cherry blossoms were unfurling beneath a glittery coat of frost, joining the now unfrozen river in welcoming spring back to Narnia.

* * *

 **AN: promises timely update  
adds new chapter a day late  
I'M SORRY! I worked yesterday and it was an EXHAUSTING shift and I forgot about posting this. But better late than never!  
We've made it across the river, whew! It wasn't easy, as you can see, but now we're on our way to Aslan's camp, which you'll be seeing next chapter!  
I don't know if that next chapter will be up before or on Saturday. I guess you'll just have to wait and see! ;)  
**

 **Review + favorite + follow pretty pretty please! I love getting all kinds of feedback!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

The further east we walked the less snow still covered the trees and ground. The air started to warm as well, but even in our wet clothes and coats we were comfortable for awhile. Eventually, though, we got tired of the wet, and by that point it had warmed up enough that we could shed our coats and drape them over a branch sticking up from a fallen trunk. Susan looked concerned at leaving the coats behind, which Peter noticed, and he reassured her, "We'll come back and get them later, after this is all over."

Then after climbing over one big bundle of roots we looked up to see that the forest was now completely green, not even a trace of frost to be found. As beautiful as Narnia had been caught in the relentless grip of the Witch's winter, the way the very land itself seemed to be rejoicing at the overnight arrival of spring was breathtaking. Flowers and trees bloomed before our eyes. Squirrels scurried across our path, mouths bulging with nuts. The chatter of birds was deafening compared to the silence of the snow.

Nature, Narnia itself, was properly moving forward again.

When we exited the forest we saw low, rolling hills covered with a soft blanket of bright green instead of white. Nestled between two of the hills, a blazing spot of color like a tapestry, were a cluster of scarlet, yellow, and white tents, banners of the same colors hanging from their central poles, fluttering every now and then in the small breeze.

"Aslan's camp," Beaver confirmed.

Lucy grinned. "We made it."

"Not quite, technically," Susan said.

"Close enough," I said with a sour look at Susan.

"Look, it's getting late, it'll be dark by the time we get there," Susan pointed out, "and we're all exhausted. We're 'close enough,' as you said, Jenna. Why don't we make camp and head there in the morning?"

It was true that the sky ahead of us was already darkening into a deep purple and stars were popping out above those flags. I looked over at Lucy to see a stubborn expression on her face, but I could tell by the way her shoulders drooped and she swayed on her feet that she was as worn out as me. We hadn't taken a proper break to recover from our ordeal in the river, the energy of the flourishing Narnian spring pushing us through the forest, and now fatigue was catching up.

Peter grimaced, somewhat unwilling to acknowledge his sister's logic. Susan crossed her arms, daring him to go against her reasonable proposition. Finally, he said, "All right, let's find a good spot to settle down for the night."

The beavers scouted out a small dip between hills partially hidden by brush not too far from the tree line. Peter and Beaver fetched kindling from the forest, Lucy and I scraped out a fire pit, and Susan and Mrs. Beaver divvied up the last of the food. The fire was small so it didn't give off too much smoke, and it was more for light than warmth anyway.

Lucy snuggled up to her brother as she asked the beavers, "Tell us about Aslan."

"Well, legend has it that he's the one who created Narnia," Beaver said.

"But that means he must be hundreds and hundreds of years old," Susan said.

"We Narnians all live long lives, dear," Mrs. Beaver told her. "let's see, all the tales say he's good and noble, and can put right any wrong."

"But you've never actually met him, right?" Peter asked. "So how can you know for sure he'll help us?"

"'Cause of the prophecy," Beaver said. "And remember what Fox said. He's all we've dreamed he would be."

"You've just got to have faith and hope, dear," Mrs. Beaver added.

Susan still looked unsure, always one to trust facts more than fairy tales, so I said, "In any case, we'll find out for ourselves what he's like tomorrow."

The others nodded and Peter said in a low voice, "Speaking of which, I think Lucy has the right idea and we should get some sleep." The young girl had fallen asleep curled up at his side and he gently lay her down on the grass. He stood up and picked up his sword belt from where he had set it aside. "I'll take first watch."

"I can take a watch shift tonight," I declared.

Peter and Susan looked unsure. "You've been through a lot today, Jenna," Susan murmured. "You need to rest."

"Then I'll take the last shift," I replied. "That way I'll get the most uninterrupted sleep. Please, let me help. I'm not as much of a child as you think I am."

The two elder Pevensies still hesitated and I pleaded silently they would give me the watch shift. Yes, I did want to help out more, but there was more to it than that.

I needed to talk to Aslan about getting home. If he was as powerful as the Narnians believed him to be, surely he could help me. But I wouldn't be able to talk to him about it if the Pevensies were around. I needed to talk to Aslan alone, and taking the last watch would provide me the perfect opportunity to slip away and get to the camp before the others.

"Ah, come on, let her do it," Beaver piped up. I smiled at him in gratitude.

"All right," Peter said. "I'll take first watch, then Susan, Beaver, Jenna. We'll leave just after dawn."

We all nodded in agreement. Peter hiked up to the top of the hollow and settled in a break in the shrubs. The rest of us lay down around the fire and Lucy, and everyone's breathing gradually slowed into the rhythm of sleep. It took me awhile to fall asleep, as anxious thoughts about my plan whirled around my mind. _What if Beaver doesn't wake me up? What if I wake up the others trying to sneak away?_

But as I listened to the fading crackle of the fire and the soft snores of my companions the dark wave of sleep soon pulled me under the tide.

xxxxx

A small but rough shaking of my shoulder woke me and I grumbled something unintelligible even to myself.

"Wake up, Jen. Your watch."

I sat up and picked the grogginess from my eyes. Beaver lifted his tail and asked with a sly grin, "Need a wake-up slap?"

I quickly shook my head. "No, no, I'm good." I stood up and brushed off some dirt from the back of my skirt.

"All right then, I'm off to catch a few more winks." Beaver curled up next to Mrs. Beaver, nuzzling her head a bit before settling down.

The campfire was a single dim flame now so I threw on a few more sticks and blew on the glowing embers to coax out a little more light. Then I climbed up to the top of the hollow, rapier in hand, and walked several laps around the perimeter to wake up my muscles. After that, I unsheathed my rapier and swung it around some, trying to get used to its weight and shape in my hand. I probably looked a little dumb slashing and spinning wildly, imitating moves I'd seen in movies, but I couldn't say I'd ever handled a real sword before.

The muscles in my arm started to feel sore after only a little practice with the rapier so I put it away. I'd have to build up my arm strength if we were going to fight in a real battle.

I heaved a deep sigh. How could they expect mere kids to lead an army? Of course, I wasn't supposed to be here in the first place, an accidental fifth wheel. And that was all the more reason to talk to Aslan about going home as soon as possible. Surely, as someone mistakenly roped into this whole thing, I wouldn't be expected to fight?

And yet, Father Christmas had given me this sword. Narnia had acknowledged and welcomed me. My presence was having an impact. I just hoped the impact wouldn't change the ultimate outcome of a happy ending. At least, I hoped it was a happy ending.

Chirping from high above pulled me from my thoughts and I looked up to see a pair of songbirds flit across the sky, which was starting to brighten on the horizon beyond the camp. Dawn was approaching, which meant it was time for me to continue with my plan.

I made one more lap around the hollow to check there weren't any threats lurking nearby, waiting for me to leave before attacking our little party. I doubted there was much danger here this close to Aslan's camp but I still felt a little guilty about leaving my post. After confirming that the coast was clear and double-checking that everyone was still asleep, I squashed my guilt, readjusted my sword belt, and headed toward Aslan's camp.

With no one to talk to as I walked, I settled for going over what I would say to Aslan to convince him to help me. Should I go levelheaded and responsible, or emotional and desperate? Was there any sort of protocol for talking to him? What if I made him mad somehow? Would he deny my request, or worse, then?

As the gray light brightened and the tents grew larger ahead of me, so that I could see gold accents glittering in the first rays of dawn, a playful breeze kicked up and swirled around me. The breeze picked up a storm of petals from the cherry trees I was walking by and showered me with them before it gathered the petals up again with a single gust. As the wind quieted the petals settled into the vague form of a girl, an arm lifting into a wave.

I waved back in wonder. This must be a dryad, a tree spirit, like the ones Mr. Tumnus said the fauns used to dance with long ago. An idea struck me and I stepped toward the cherry blossom dryad. "Hello, it's lovely to meet you."

Some petals forming the dryad's face drifted into a semblance of a smile.

"Would you mind doing me a favor, actually? Some friends of mine are sleeping in a hollow not too far behind there," I gestured in the direction I had come, "and I was wondering if you could watch and make sure no harm comes to them before they wake up at dawn? Oh! And please also tell them that Jenna has gone ahead and will meet them at the camp."

The dryad's smile grew and she nodded, taking my hand in a flurry of pink petals and dancing around me before allowing the wind to scatter her form and carry her in the direction of the hollow. Invigorated by the knowledge that the others would be okay, I continued on my way to the camp at a quicker pace. I decided to skirt around the smaller tents closer to me and aim for the bigger tent set apart from most of the camp. I guessed it would be the leader's tent, Aslan's tent.

Even though dawn was just breaking there was already a muted symphony of noise around the camp, full of conversation, growls, metal clanging, and the flapping of the banners in the brisk wind. I slipped in between some tents posted not too far away from my goal and tried to stick to the shadows. But there were too many Narnians already out and about for me to remain unnoticed for long. I could feel the eyes on me as I passed fauns and other goat-men creatures with rams' horns, various animals like leopards and bears, and towering centaurs and waddling dwarves.

Seeing no point in hiding anymore, I stepped out into the open area separating two columns of tents and carried on, trying to hold my head high, like I belonged there.

Even though that was the farthest thing from the truth.

I ignored the whispers that rose around me as the Narnians grew curious about the camp's unannounced visitor. Nobody raised the alarm, though. No one seized me and threw me out of the camp. Somehow, they knew I was on their side.

A lone centaur, bare of armor unlike his brethren I had seen so far, stood with arms crossed outside the large commander's tent. He glared down at me as I approached and I felt a bolt of panic. I didn't know the rules here. I hesitated before the centaur, who remained silent and unblinking.

I decided to just follow my gut. I unsheathed my sword, resting the blade across the palms of my hands. Then I kneeled, bowed my head, and held the rapier out to the centaur. I tried to speak, but only a squawk came out and I cleared my throat before trying again. "I wish to speak to Aslan."

I glanced up to see the centaur's eyes narrow and I immediately resumed staring at the ground.

"Please," I added.

I suddenly realized that the camp had gone silent besides the flags snapping about, and in my peripheral vision I saw hooves and paws and other sorts of feet gathered around me.

"Rise."

My head snapped up as I connected the deep voice that had spoken to the centaur. "Wait here," he instructed and then walked into the tent.

The noise of the camp returned and the crowd dispersed. I returned to my feet and sheathed my rapier, keeping my gaze focused on the cloth flaps that served as the entrance to the tent.

Only a few moments had passed when the cloth was pushed away and the centaur ducked out of the tent. When he looked at me his expression was still stern, but it was no longer the hard glare of a minute ago. He raised an arm toward the tent and said, "Aslan will see you. He's been expecting you."

I released the breath I'd been holding and raised an eyebrow in surprise. _Expecting me?_ I put away the thought as I bowed, murmured my thanks, and slipped into the tent.

It was quite dim inside and I resisted the urge to squint. The gray light of daybreak filtered through openings in the roof but it didn't provide a lot of illumination. A lantern hung from a post by the entrance but only a small flame hovered on the wick. As my eyes adjusted I scanned the room to see a couple of sizable trunks, a pile of woven pillows, and a wide table with an abundance of scrolls rolled out on top of it.

I heard more than saw something shift on the opposite side of the tent. "Hello?" I called out, my voice timider than I would've liked.

"Greetings, Jenna Lockley."

The voice was deep but warm, with rumbling undertones. It reminded me of my grandfathers, and I immediately felt like I could trust this voice. Muscles that had tensed up with apprehension relaxed a little.

Now somewhat adjusted to the dimness of the tent, I was able to track the large bulk that raised itself from the ground and moved toward me. At that moment, the sun rose high enough to flood the valley with orange light and the morning rays poured through some of the tent roof's openings. The figure stepped into the sunbeams and I gasped.

Before me stood a magnificent lion.

The last time I saw a lion in person was at the zoo several years ago, so I couldn't be sure how this lion compared in size, but I got the impression he was quite big. His full mane was shaggy but well-kept, and his eyes held a gentle twinkle.

The lion's muzzle tightened and I realized that he was _smiling_.

I stammered, "You're a – So Aslan is –"

A burst of sharp rumbles came from the lion – laughter. "Yes, child, I am Aslan, and yes, I am a lion"

I furrowed my eyebrows and then made an exasperated gesture. "I don't even know why I'm surprised."

That drew another chuckle from Aslan. "Come, child, we have much to discuss, and I know you have many questions." Aslan turned to the mound of cushions and lay down at one end, gathering a few under his front paws.

I sat on a cluster of pillows at the other end, careful to keep some space between us. Even though my heart told me Aslan posed no threat, my head was still very aware of the fact that this was a lion and it would be all too easy for him to kill me before I could even open my mouth to scream.

"The centaur said you were expecting me," I said.

Aslan nodded. "I knew you would seek me out on your own. Your situation is quite different from the others."

I chewed my lip, suddenly unsure of what to say or ask first. The whole lion thing kind of threw me off. Why couldn't the beavers have mentioned Aslan was a lion?

"You know how I got here, right?" I finally asked.

Aslan nodded again.

"Can you tell me more about it?" I was suddenly overwhelmed with excitement. Even though it was my own power, I barely knew anything about it, and it wasn't like I knew anyone else like me that I could ask about it.

"You, Jenna, are what is called a 'script jumper,'" Aslan explained. "You possess the gift of a rare magic called script singing. Even when magic was still prevalent in your world very few magic-wielders were script singers. Even fewer still were able to perform script jumping."

I scooted forward a bit, the lion's words holding my full attention. _Script singing. Script jumping_. My power actually had a proper name.

"Script singers are able to bring to life what they read. Script jumpers take that a step forward and travel between the realms of their words."

"So do you know how I can get back home then?" I exclaimed.

"Why are you so eager to return home?" Aslan questioned.

I frowned. "Because that's where I belong. I'm not supposed to be here."

"You would not be here if you were not supposed to be here, Jenna," Aslan responded.

"I don't just mean Narnia, I mean England!" I cried out in frustration. "I mean the entire world of the book I used to get here!" I dropped my face into my hands. "And now I can't get back home and unless you help me I never will."

Aslan was silent for a few minutes. I used the time to suppress the growing urge to cry, blinking back tears and taking deep breaths.

"Some say that our destinies are written in the stars," Aslan said. "For your new friends, Jenna, you have moved those stars by script jumping."

I shook my head. "It's not like I meant to change things," I whispered.

"Every action has consequences, some intended, some not. What's done is done, and leaving will not change that, Jenna. And so, what remains to be seen is what you will do now."

I folded my hands in my lap and stared down at them. I'd believed so hard that Aslan would help me that I hadn't considered my options if I wasn't able to go home after all. "Well, if I'm going to be here for awhile," I looked back up at Aslan, "then I want a role to play."

"Have you not already determined your role? A fellow refugee and a friend to the Pevensies."

"I mean in _Narnia_. The others are apparently part of this big prophecy, but me…I'm just tagging along. Since I'm here, couldn't you give me a bigger part to play? I don't mean a whole prophecy or anything, just…something."

Aslan appeared to contemplate my request. "Remember what I said, there are intended and unintended consequences to everything. Do you still wish to pursue such a desire?"

The question triggered a little doubt, but I was still determined. I nodded in response.

I was going to be a part of Narnia whether Aslan liked it or not.

"Then from now on, you shall be known as my ward," Aslan declared. The lion rose and padded to the nearest patch of sunlight, turning his face upwards and emitting a long growl that erupted into a subdued roar that was still loud enough to make me jump and cover my ears.

"Your…ward?" I repeated as I lowered my hands.

Aslan moved to one of the trunks and nosed it open. "You will have been under my care for several years. I found you at the edge of my country when you were still small. My power will have kept the Witch ignorant of your existence." I struggled to process the lion's words as he pawed through the trunk's contents, which looked to be bundles of cloth. "When the time was drawing near for the prophecy to come to pass, I sent you to the Pevensies' world to ensure their safe arrival while I returned and rallied the Narnians."

At last Aslan pulled out a maroon piece with a claw and held it out to me. I took it and held up the cloth to see that it was actually a dress. Golden embroidery curled around the square neckline and the hemline that drifted around my ankles, and small frills of the same color poked out at the ends of the long sleeves.

I lowered the dress and looked at Aslan with wide eyes. The big cat sat and curled his tail around his paws, waiting for my reaction. I looked back at the dress, running a hand over the embroidery at the collar.

"Your ward," I repeated again. I had the uneasy feeling I'd gotten in way over my head with this whole _bigger part to play_ idea.

The sound of a horn blowing broke my reverie as it echoed around the valley and camp.

"The others have arrived," Aslan stated, and then nodded at the dress in my hands. "Time to get changed. You'll be expected to greet them with me."

I gulped and simply nodded as I slipped behind a screen at the other end of the pavilion. I was out of the English sweater and skirt and in the Narnian dress within a minute, pulling at the sleeves as I stepped back out. It was a very nice dress, fitting me very well, and while the skirt was long it still allowed plenty of movement. I couldn't resist giving a little twirl as Aslan examined me.

He smiled and said, "It suits you very well."

I smiled back. The dress did make me feel like I could play my new part.

We heard a clamor outside the tent, then quiet, and then I recognized Peter's voice as he proclaimed, "We have come to see Aslan."

Aslan eyed me. "Are you ready?"

Panic returned. "What exactly should I do?"

Aslan gave me a knowing look. "Have faith in yourself." He positioned himself at the entrance of the pavilion and looked over his shoulder at me.

I stepped up to his right side and tentatively lay a hand on his mane. The hair was rougher than it looked, but something about the texture still made me want to just bury my face in it and shut out the anxiety that was making it a little harder to breathe.

I felt the muscles under Aslan's mane shift and I stepped forward at the same time as him out into the daylight.

The day was now fully underway and I had to blink a few times to clear away the glare from the sun. Aslan stood in the way between me and the clearing for his audiences. I peered over his shoulder to see what looked like the entire camp, all kneeling or bowing, crowded around the three Pevensies and the two beavers.

When Aslan turned to face forward and I could look out without obstruction I saw that all three Pevensies wore shocked expressions, although I couldn't be sure if it was because of Aslan or me. After the moment of shock passed, the Pevensies seemed to take note of the proper etiquette and kneeled as well, Peter turning his sword point-down in front of him.

"Welcome, Peter, Son of Adam," Aslan greeted. "Welcome, Susan and Lucy, Daughters of Eve. And welcome to you, Beavers, you have my thanks. But where is the fourth?" Aslan gave me a sideways glance.

"That's why we're here, sir," Peter said as he stood and sheathed his swords. Everyone followed his actions and stood up as well. "We need your help."

"We had a little trouble along the way," Susan added.

"Our brother's been captured by the White Witch," Peter explained.

"Captured?" Aslan looked over at me sharply, and I realized that this was news to him.

"I thought you would have known about it," I murmured. To be honest, I had been so wrapped up in my own problems I hadn't thought to mention the predicament of Edmund.

Aslan looked back at the Pevensies. "How could this happen?"

The siblings looked down, ashamed.

Beaver spoke up for them. "He…betrayed them, Your Majesty."

"Then he has betrayed us all," declared the centaur who guarded Aslan's tent.

"Peace, Oreius," Aslan ordered. "I'm sure there's an explanation."

I stepped forward. "When Edmund first came to Narnia, he was alone and the White Witch found him. She convinced him that if he helped her she would make him king by himself." My voice softened. "I think he just wanted to feel important…"

Peter raised his head. "It's my fault that the Witch could get to him. I was too hard on him."

Susan touched her brother's shoulder reassuringly. "We all were."

"Sir, he's our brother," Lucy said.

"I know, dear one," Aslan replied. "But that only makes the betrayal all the worse. This may be harder than you think." His tone turned authoritative. "I will discuss this with my generals. For now, Jenna and Atticus will help you get settled here. Jenna, you'll find some suitable clothing in the trunk. Atticus, please locate two tents for our new arrivals." A ram-man near Oreius stepped forward and bowed before trotting away. "Everyone else, return to your duties."

The crowd immediately dispersed and Aslan, Oreius, and a few other soldiers of various species disappeared into another large tent nearby, leaving the Pevensies with me in front of Aslan's tent.

I felt my cheeks burn as the Pevensies and the Beavers stared at me. "Um, right," I stammered. "Clothes. If you'll just wait here, I'll be just a moment." I smiled a little too big and rushed back into Aslan's tent, which was now well lit with sunlight. The chest from which Aslan had retrieved my dress was still open and I looked inside to see some neatly-folded human clothing on one side and some boots and sandals on the other. I found a dark green dress a little bigger than me for Susan, a light blue one a little smaller than me for Lucy, and then a gray tunic and pants that looked to be Peter's size.

I hurried back out with the bundle of clothes in my arms and handed each piece to the appropriate Pevensie. "Here we are, once Atticus takes you to your tents you can change there." I caught sight of Lucy's flats and exclaimed, "Oh, shoes!" I turned back to the pavilion.

"Jenna," Peter started but I ignored him. I grabbed some boots and sandals and brought them out, not sure what sizes would fit. I set them down in front of the Pevensies and brushed my hands together. "There we go, I figure you can just try them on and whatever doesn't fit I'll put away."

"Jenna," Peter said again and this time I looked up at him. "Who are you?"

I stayed silent for a minute. I had somewhat avoided lying to the Pevensies about my identity up to this point, but now, if I was to go along with the role Aslan granted me, I had to either lie or tell the truth.

I wasn't ready to do the latter.

 _There are intended and unintended consequences to everything_ , Aslan's words echoed in my mind. I sighed. "I am Aslan's ward. I was sent to England to make sure that you all got to Narnia and got here safely." I cringed as I thought of Edmund. "Obviously, I didn't entirely succeed."

"So you're from here?" Susan asked. "You're from Narnia?"

"I…I'm not sure where I'm from," I replied, my heart twisting. "Aslan found me when I was little, I don't remember anything from before then. So I suppose in a way I am a Narnian."

"That's why you were so upset about Edmund," Lucy whispered. "Back when he left the dam. You were upset about not being able to stop him because Aslan told you to bring him here and you couldn't."

 _No, that really was because I felt really, really bad. Although I don't know why when he acted like such an ass_ , I thought but I kept quiet.

Lucy put down the dress I had given her and wrapped her arms around me. The hug was so unexpected I just stood there frozen for a moment before returning the embrace. "Thank you, Lucy," I murmured.

Atticus returned at that moment, clearing his throat and saying, "Milady, pardon me for interrupting. Your Majesties, your lodgings are ready."

Lucy let go of me and we smiled at each other as she picked back up her new dress and a smaller pair of sandals before following her siblings and Atticus.

I stood there alone for a minute watching the activities of the camp. Whenever a soldier passed close to me they would nod and murmur, "Milady." So my status as Aslan's ward counted as a title, and apparently the camp already knew all about it. When Aslan had roared out into the day, he had cemented my place in the fabric of Narnia's story.

More of the lion's words came to mind: _What remains to be seen is what you will do now_.

I drew my rapier and held it out in front of me, admiring the blade for a moment before turning it over and kneeling like Peter had earlier. I made a silent vow: _I will fulfill my duties as Aslan's ward to the best of my ability. I will help the Pevensies defeat the White Witch._

 _And I_ will _get back home._

* * *

 **AN: GAHH I'm so sorry for the delay! I went out of town and then I just didn't have the energy to write and it took me awhile to pick up motivation again. So here's an off-schedule, super-sized chapter for you to make up for the wait! (over 5000 words woo!)**

 **ASLAN IS HERE WOO WE'RE ALL SAVED! Kinda. I think Jenna got more than she bargained for, and like Aslan said, everything has consequences whether you want them or not. But now her new title will let Jenna get involved in a lot more stuff and help provide a (fake) excuse for various decisions (and not just in this story! ;) )**  
 **(Also, we finally got the basis for our title, yay!)**

 **Now this time I know better than to promise an on-time update for the next chapter. I don't know if I'll have it written in time to post Saturday or not. You're just gonna have to wait and see. Make sure to hit that Follow button so you'll know the minute I add it!  
And Favorite, and Review, those buttons are cool too. ;) ;)**

 **Thanks for your patience, everyone! See ya next time! 3**


	12. Chapter 12

I wandered around the camp until I came to a small field behind the camp that had been set up as a training area. Dummies and targets lined the borders, and weapon racks stood under canopies. I could hear the rhythmic clanging of metal striking metal from not far off where a few smithies had been set up to make and repair weapons and armor. A few fauns sparred in one corner, a boar and a bear brawled in another, a centaur was taking practice shots with a large bow, and two more centaurs, one male and one female and both armored, were dueling near me. I watched, mesmerized, as their greatswords clashed again and again, until the female disarmed her opponent in a whirl of metal and a shower of sparks, and placed the tip of her sword at his throat.

The male centaur laughed and clasped the female's hand. "Another fine match, Moonshadow. One day I'll beat you."

"I look forward to it, Thunderhoof," Moonshadow responded, nodding at him as he went to speak to the centaur practicing archery.

The centauress noticed me and trotted over, sheathing her sword and bowing her head. "Lady Jenna, we are glad that you have safely returned to us."

"Er, thank you, Moonshadow," I replied. "I'm glad to be back."

"I see you've got a new blade there, milady." Moonshadow gestured to the rapier hanging at my waist. "Would you like to try it out?"

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea," I answered. "I'm not very good with it yet."

"Nonsense," Moonshadow insisted, drawing a short sword from a sheath on her chestnut flank. "I highly doubt that Aslan would let his ward grow up without any swordsmanship training. Come on, let's get some armor on you and give it a go."

A dwarf came up to me with a set of leather padding and helped me slide all the pieces on so that my chest, back, and forearms were all covered. There was also a pair of fingerless leather gloves. Moonshadow ambled into the middle of the field and spun her sword in her hand, waiting for me to step up and face her.

I gulped. I didn't think the centauress would actually hurt me, but that didn't change the fact that I had zero experience with a sword and anything could happen. Plus, I wasn't inclined to embarrass myself out here in the open where a number of soldiers could see us.

But somehow, despite my fears, my right hand ended up pulling out my rapier and my feet marching me out onto the field. I clenched the hilt of the sword tightly, trying to stop my hand from trembling.

Moonshadow lifted her blade. "Ready?"

I nodded and raised my own sword.

Moonshadow slashed out and my arm automatically twisted to angle my blade for a proper block. I grit my teeth as the force of Moonshadow's sword striking my own reverberated up my entire arm and I instinctively leapt back a few yards. Moonshadow easily covered the distance with her equine body and swung again, but once more my arm seemed to act on its own and parried the strike, using the momentum to spin and skip off to the side.

Moonshadow's chestnut bulk swung around to follow me as she kept on the offensive, speeding up her assault of slashes and thrusts. I fended off many of them but Moonshadow still managed to slap me a few times with the flat of her blade. I was forced to keep moving backward and sidestepping, unable to compete with the centauress's strength.

Although my body had somehow figured out how to defend itself in a proper swordfight, it didn't have the strength of a proper swordswoman and I was quickly tiring. I watched carefully for an opening as Moonshadow's arms flexed and her torso twisted and her horse body swung wildly behind her as she followed me around the field, hooves leaping across the grass.

 _That's it!_ Being part horse did give Moonshadow an advantage strength-wise, but it also limited any movements that weren't straight ahead. Horses can have a tough time making tight turns because of the way their bodies are built.

I ducked under a high swing of Moonshadow's sword and jumped forward and toward the centauress's unguarded left flank. As I suspected, Moonshadow was slow to pull away and I slid my rapier lightly along her side as I ran past her, taking care to not break the skin. I spun on my heels and charged at Moonshadow again as she finished turning around, poking at her chest several times before being pushed away by her sword again.

Moonshadow laughed as I leapt back, ready for her next attack. "I thought you said you were no good with that blade, milady!" She lowered her sword and held out her free hand.

I relaxed and grinned as I shook her hand. "I said I wasn't _very_ good with it." Adrenaline was still buzzing through me and I was out of breath from the duel. I wondered at how my body had seemed to know exactly what to do when early that morning I'd been so clumsy with the rapier.

 _I highly doubt that Aslan would let his ward grow up without any swordsmanship training_. Moonshadow believed the Jenna that was Aslan's ward had previous training. Perhaps, similar to how I'd become the refugee Jenna I created when I used my script jumping power to come here, I was now becoming the Narnian Jenna and acquiring the skills someone of her history would have.

"Well, I think you handle that blade just fine, milady. A little more stamina training and you could pass for a centauress." Moonshadow winked at me at that last statement.

I couldn't help a loud laugh. "I look forward to it, Moonshadow," I said with a wink of my own.

Moonshadow sheathed her sword. "Speaking of training, how much experience do you have on horseback?"

 **xxxxx**

It turned out that Lady Jenna, much like Jenna Lockley, had very little horseback riding experience. The most riding I had ever done was a few pony rides at fairs when I was little. Moonshadow and I spent the rest of the afternoon together as I learned basic riding skills and then drilled a few simple sword moves from the back of my steed.

Moonshadow had selected for me a pretty palomino mare named Chryssa. The centauress claimed that Chryssa was a very intuitive and patient, but also intense, horse. Chryssa would be able to accommodate for my lack of riding skills without giving me trouble, but once I'd had some training we would be an intimidating pair in battle.

Indeed, Chryssa had behaved with the patience Moonshadow had described. When I slipped off the horse in my first attempt to mount her Chryssa nuzzled me where I lay on the ground as if to check that I was okay. She kept her gaits slow as I tried each one and only lengthened her stride when I was ready, even if I didn't feel that way. Chryssa knew exactly how to move when we moved on to using swords, and I learned to trust that the mare wouldn't run into anything or throw me off so I could focus on not cutting my own arm off.

When Moonshadow decided we'd had enough training for one day I slid off Chryssa's back and almost collapsed as my feet hit the ground. Muscles I didn't even know existed in my legs ached and twinged with every step as I led Chryssa back to the stables. Chryssa nudged my arm every now and then, the affection making me giggle and drawing soft whickers from the mare in response.

Chryssa and I were just about to enter the stables when the clear sound of a horn rang out through the valley. Chryssa's ears turned and I looked out over the camp, trying to pinpoint the horn's source. It didn't sound like the horn the guards used to announce visitors and relay warning. Suddenly the image of a carved ivory horn in Susan's hands flashed in my mind.

"Susan!" I cried as I looked over to Moonshadow. "She's in trouble!"

Moonshadow immediately cantered toward camp and I practically jumped off the mounting block sitting outside the stables back into Chryssa's saddle, ignoring the protests of my sore muscles. The mare took off after Moonshadow as soon as she sensed me on her back.

We found Aslan and Oreius gathering a small group of troops by Aslan's pavilion. Moonshadow clasped arms with Oreius before lining up with the others. Aslan gave me a pointed look.

"I'm coming," I stated. Chryssa tossed her head.

Aslan nodded and then addressed everyone, "The call came from the stream. Peter is already on his way. Let's go!" With that, Aslan turned and sprinted off at a speed faster than I expected for a creature of his size. Oreius followed and Chryssa kept us just behind him. The soldiers behind us whooped as we followed the great lion to the stream.

We dashed through some thin woodland, the sounds of girls shouting and wolves barking ahead of us. As we broke out of the trees at the stream Aslan snarled and there was a sharp yelp. One of the Witch's wolves struggled under Aslan's paws where the lion held him captive. Susan and Lucy huddled up in a tree and Peter faced down Maugrim, who had apparently (and unfortunately) survived the collapsing ice back at the waterfall.

Oreius drew his sword but Aslan commanded, "No. Stay your weapons. This is Peter's battle."

Oreius narrowed his eyes but obeyed, although he only lowered his sword instead of sheathing it.

Maugrim seemed undisturbed by our arrival, taunting Peter, "You may think you're a king, but you're going to die, like a dog!" Maugrim leaped at Peter with a savage snarl. Boy and wolf tumbled to the ground together and then lay still.

Susan and Lucy screamed his name and jumped down from their refuge in the tree. I nudged Chryssa forward a bit but Moonshadow put out an arm to stop me, and I resisted the urge to jump down myself and join them. The Pevensie girls shoved the alpha wolf away from where he lay on top of Peter with no resistance. Peter sat up and looked down with shock at the wolf and his sword stuck in the beast's belly.

Maugrim was dead.

Aslan lifted his paws to allow the whimpering wolf he'd trapped to wriggle out and run off into the woods. "After him," Aslan ordered, making eye contact with Oreius and then me. "He'll lead you to Edmund."

Oreius looked at me and then Moonshadow, who nodded. The centaur commander nodded to me then, which I returned, and without a word we raced after the wolf, our impromptu squad a few strides behind.

The wolf led us west into a darker part of the woods, where the trees seemed to be recovering from the cursed winter more slowly than the rest of the land. We hadn't gone too far in before we could hear the faint clanging of hammers and anvils and the sharp scraping of sharpening blades. Oreius held a hand up and we all slid to a halt around him.

"All right, this is an in-and-out job," Oreius said. He looked at Moonshadow and me and instructed, "Your job is to find the boy and get him out." He turned to the rest of the squad. "We'll keep the camp distracted. Wreck their supplies, cause chaos, but don't be reckless. I don't want any casualties from this. As soon as Moonshadow gives the signal we withdraw. Understood?"

Everyone nodded. My heart pounded in my chest and I clutched my reins a little tighter. Chryssa pawed the ground.

Oreius pointed his blade forward and let out a war cry as he charged toward the camp. The rest of us followed without hesitation. Oreius and a few others swept in front of Moonshadow and I to take out the first group of the Witch's troops we encountered and allow the centauress and I to dive into the camp with little opposition. I twisted in my saddle as I scanned the camp for Edmund, Moonshadow knocking away an ugly creature that may have been an ogre.

"There!" I spotted Edmund tied to a tree, the Witch's dwarf attendant standing by him and wielding a knife. Moonshadow and I weaved our way through the camp to Edmund, and the dwarf had to leap out of the way in order to avoid being trampled under the centauress's hooves.

While Moonshadow dealt with the dwarf, I slid off Chryssa even before she had come to a complete stop in front of Edmund. I pulled the gag out of his mouth and he coughed before exclaiming, "Jenna! What's going on?"

I cut away the ropes binding him to the tree with a dagger Moonshadow had given me from the armory. "What does it look like? We're rescuing you! Now come on!" I pulled Edmund up and over to Chryssa, who was restless from the skirmishes around her. I hopped up first and calmed the mare before helping Edmund mount behind me.

I looked around for Moonshadow to see her dragging the dwarf over to the tree I'd just freed Edmund from. She saw me and shouted, "Go! I'll be right behind you." She made a piercing whooping sound, the signal that we had successfully retrieved Edmund.

I nodded and warned Edmund, "Hold on tight," before kicking Chryssa into a canter. As we sped past Oreius I heard him yell, "Retreat, Narnians! Retreat!" Edmund's arms squeezed around my middle as we led the squad back through the woods, not slowing until we were back in the valley that held Aslan's camp. I patted Chryssa's neck, which was glistening with sweat, murmuring praise. I looked over my shoulder at Edmund, who had loosened his grip around me now that we had slowed down. "You okay?"

Edmund nodded. "I'm really hungry, though."

"We'll get you plenty to eat back at Aslan's camp," I said.

"Are my family all right, Jenna?" Edmund asked.

I smiled. "They're fine, ready to see you again."

"They must be so angry with me," Edmund muttered. "I messed everything up. That's all I ever do. The White Witch, I thought she understood me, but she's just that. A witch. How could I be so stupid?"

"The White Witch is very powerful, Edmund," I told him. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

Aslan and a few soldiers were waiting for us on the outskirts of camp. I felt Edmund tense behind me when he saw the great lion and he whispered, "Is that him?"

I just nodded, and Edmund groaned.

We pulled up in front of them and Aslan said, "You have done well. You all deserve a good meal and a good rest."

I dismounted and then helped Edmund down from Chryssa's back. Aslan approached us and I bowed, motioning to Edmund to do the same. "Edmund, this is Aslan, King of Narnia and Commander of the Narnian Army. Aslan, this is Edmund Pevensie."

"Welcome, Edmund," Aslan greeted. "We are glad to see you safe with us. Come, let us talk for a bit. Jenna, please bring some fresh clothes to the Pevensies' tents for Edmund. Oreius, please see to it that food for Edmund is brought there as well."

I nodded and smiled at Edmund as he gave me a nervous look before walking away with Aslan.

Moonshadow trotted up as I led Chryssa to the stables. "You did well, Lady Jenna."

"Thank you, Moonshadow, but I didn't do much. I didn't even fight."

"You stayed calm and worked fast. Many panic in their first battle."

"I'd hardly call it a battle," I muttered.

Moonshadow clapped a hand on my shoulder and repeated, "You did well, milady."

"Oh yeah, Moonshadow, what were you doing with that dwarf?" I asked.

"Oh, just thought I'd give him a taste of his own medicine," Moonshadow answered. "Trussed him up to that tree and stuck his knife in that silly hat of his. Oh, what I'd give to see the Witch's face when they found him instead of Edmund." We both laughed at that image.

After untacking Chryssa and getting her settled in her stall – which happened to be next to a _unicorn_ – I deposited my leather armor that I had kept on from training back at the armory. My next stop was Aslan's tent to retrieve another set of clothes and a pair of boots from the trunk for Edmund, and then after asking a satyr – as Moonshadow had informed me the ram-men were called – for directions, I headed over to the Pevensies' tents.

Oreius passed by me, probably having just delivered food for Edmund, and we nodded to each other as I approached the Pevensies' tents. Peter came out of one at that moment but stopped when he saw Oreius and me. Oreius looked up at a nearby hill and Peter and I followed his gaze to see Aslan and Edmund talking. Peter's expression changed to relief.

I started up the hill toward Aslan and Edmund but Aslan saw me and raised a paw before I got close. This conversation wasn't open to Aslan's ward.

"Edmund!" Lucy's voice rang out behind me and I looked back to see Peter stopping her from running to her other brother.

Aslan and Edmund both also looked down at Lucy's cry. They exchanged a few more words before turning and coming down the hill to stop in front of the Pevensies and me.

"What's done is done," Aslan said. "There is no need to speak to Edmund about what has passed." With that, Aslan walked away, leaving the five of us alone.

We stood in awkward silence for a moment before Edmund cleared his throat and murmured, "Hello."

Lucy ran up to him and gave him a big hug. I half expected Edmund to push her away, but instead he wrapped his arms around her. Susan hugged Edmund next, asking, "Are you all right?"

"I'm a little tired," Edmund replied with a small smile.

"Get some sleep," Peter said, nodding to the tent he'd exited. As Edmund walked past him the eldest Pevensie added with a teasing smile, "And Edmund, try not to wander off."

Edmund smiled back at his brother, probably the first moment of genuine affection I had seen between the two.

At that moment I realized that I was still holding the new clothes for Edmund and called out, "Wait!" I rushed up to him and practically threw the clothes and boots into his hands. "These are for you. Let me know if something doesn't fit."

"Thanks," Edmund said. "Not just for the clothes. For rescuing me." He paused. "And I'm sorry, Jenna. You tried to stop me and I didn't listen. You were just trying to look out for me. I guess…" His voice grew softer. "I guess I couldn't believe that someone I'd just met could care about me when I felt like my own family didn't."

My cheeks warmed a little as I smiled. "Believe it or not, Ed, you're not all that bad, even if you do act like an ass sometimes. Now go on, get some rest."

Edmund headed into the tent and I turned back to the Pevensies to immediately be caught in one of Lucy's hugs. "I knew you'd be able to finish your mission, Jenna," she said. "We're all here now."

"Really, thank you for bringing our brother back," Peter said.

"I'm glad I could help," I said. "Now I need to go get something to eat, seeing as I missed dinner. I'll come by at breakfast time tomorrow and see how you're doing."

After stopping by the kitchen tents to devour a bowl of some sort of stew, I found Aslan waiting for me just outside his pavilion, which would also be where I was sleeping. "Edmund told me you warned him about the Witch," he said.

"Yes, he apologized to me for not listening," I said, heading toward the tent's entrance. "Said he wasn't used to someone actually giving a damn about him. I mean, that's not exactly how he said it, but-"

The sound of Aslan chuckling made me pause, holding one of the tent's flaps open. "What? What is it?"

"Ah, I simply find the new story from those stars you've moved amusing," Aslan answered as he padded into the tent through the open flap I was holding.

"Wait, what story? Come on, Aslan."

The great lion just purred with delight.

* * *

 **AN: Finally here's a new chapter! Oh my gosh things have been crazy, and they're not gonna get any less crazier. I head back to college at the end of the month so I'll be getting ready for that. I was really hoping I'd at least be able to finish writing this before then but don't know if that's gonna happen. We'll see, though!**

 **So now y'all know how Edmund was rescued from the Witch's camp haha. I'm not sure if the timeline over these next couple chapters match up with the movie but the passage of time in the movie is really unclear so I'm just going with what makes sense for the pacing of this story. Yay fan fiction!**

 **Once again, I'm not gonna make any promises on if the next chapter will be out in a timely manner. I'd like to think so, especially since I've already started writing it. But this is me we're talking about haha.**

 **Don't forget to follow, favorite, and REVIEW please! Thanks for reading! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning, I took my breakfast over to the Pevensies' tents to eat with them. Ever since we'd arrived at Aslan's camp we hadn't spent that much time together, what with me now being Aslan's ward and all. Even though I was glad the journey was over, I missed those days and nights traveling together and having their company all the time. Sure, Aslan was cool being a powerful lion and all, but at least the Pevensies didn't talk in riddles.

The Pevensies were already in the middle of eating their own meal when I joined them. "Good morning," I greeted as I sat down next to Susan, the Pevensies mumbling their own greetings around the food in their mouths. Peter was standing off to the side with just a cup, while Edmund was devouring everything on his plate. He'd changed into the clothes I gave him the previous day, a tan tunic and pants with a burnt orange vest. He looked perkier now after getting some rest and food. The only visible mark from his ordeal was a scab from a split lip.

"Narnia's not going to run out of toast, Ed," Lucy commented as Edmund scarfed down his second slice. I'd just finished telling him my new story of being Aslan's ward and seemed to accept it without any hurt feelings.

"I'm sure they'll pack something up for the journey back," Peter said.

We all turned around and looked at him. Susan asked, "We're going home?"

Peter moved away from the boulder he'd been leaning against and sat down at the table in the space between Edmund and me. "You are. I promised Mum I'd keep you three safe. But it doesn't mean I can't stay behind and help."

"But they need us," Lucy said. "All four of us. Jenna worked so hard to get us here."

"She's right, you can't just leave now!" I added.

"Lucy, it's too dangerous," Peter responded. "You almost drowned! Edmund was almost killed!"

"Which is why we have to stay," Edmund mumbled, just loud enough for us to hear. "I've seen what the White Witch can do, and I've helped her do it."

"Edmund-" I started.

He shook his head. "I helped her, and we can't leave these people behind to suffer for it."

Lucy put her hand over Edmund's and we all smiled warmly at him.

"I suppose that's it then," Susan said, getting to her feet and walking over to pick up her bow and quiver.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked.

"To get in some practice," she replied with a smirk.

I jumped up with a grin. "I'll take you to the practice fields! If Moonshadow isn't there already I'll go find her, she's a great teacher. Oreius would probably be willing to help, too."

Everyone gathered up their weapons, except Edmund, who hadn't been there when we met Father Christmas, and I led the Pevensies to the training field. Moonshadow was the only one there, this time practicing with a longbow that was as tall as her torso, human and equine.

"Moonshadow!" I called out, waving to the centauress.

Moonshadow lowered her bow and trotted over, bowing to the Pevensies and me. "Your Majesties, my lady, how may I be of service?"

"Their Majesties have decided it's time to train for the battle against the White Witch. Would you teach them? I was thinking I could seek out Oreius to help as well."

"I would be honored to train you, Your Majesties," Moonshadow replied, bowing her head with respect. "I believe I spotted General Oreius in the armory not too long ago."

I thanked Moonshadow and headed off to the armory, hearing the centauress declare, "Since I've got a bow on me, why don't we start with you, Queen Susan…"

I found Oreius at the armory like Moonshadow said, finishing up some kind of inspection, and he readily agreed to my request that he give the Pevensies some rudimentary training. When we returned to the training fields Susan was shooting at targets on her own, with Edmund watching, and Moonshadow looked to be showing Lucy how to throw her dagger a couple targets down, with Peter carefully watching his youngest sister. Oreius took charge of Peter and Edmund for their swordsmanship training, and I joined Lucy and Moonshadow for a bit of dagger training of my own.

After Moonshadow deemed it safe for Lucy to practice on her own and checked in on Susan, nudging her form here and there, she took me over to another sparring field to drill some of the skills we'd worked on the day before. After that she sent to me fetch Chryssa and I came back to find her showing Susan and Lucy some basic sword skills before sending them back to the targets.

While I dueled from Chryssa's back with Moonshadow, we heard shouts from over the hill and Peter and Edmund appeared, both also on horseback. Peter had been given the beautiful unicorn and Edmund was riding a chestnut stallion. We all watched as they sparred, Peter calling out instructions, and then I gave Moonshadow a mischievous grin and urged Chryssa toward them.

"A new foe appears!" I cried out as I rode right between the two boys, parrying away both of their swords before whipping around to await their attack.

My entrance startled Edmund's horse, though, causing the stallion to rear. Edmund managed to hang on, shouting, "Whoa, horsey!" I maneuvered Chryssa next to the horse to grab his bridle and help bring him down. He landed back on his hooves with a huff and informed Edmund, "My name is Philip."

"Oh, sorry," Edmund said.

"Are you all right, Philip? I'm sorry for scaring you," I said.

"No, I should have been more prepared," Philip replied. "There will be much scarier things in battle."

Edmund paled and gulped.

Peter yelled, "En garde!" and I whipped around in my saddle to see him charging us. Chryssa was already moving by the time I yanked her reins to the side to dodge Peter's unicorn. I raised my sword and got a strike on Peter's blade as he rode past me and then parried with Edmund.

"Peter! Edmund! Jenna!" Beaver came running toward us and we broke apart from our practice fight.

"What is it, Beaver?" I asked.

"The Witch has demanded a meeting with Aslan," Beaver answered. "She's on her way here."

We looked at each other with grim expressions and I slid off Chryssa. "Come on, let's get these horses put away."

With the help of Susan, Lucy, and Moonshadow, we got all three steeds untacked, groomed, and back in their stalls with fresh hay and water in record time. Then we rushed back to the center of camp and Aslan's pavilion.

The entire camp was gathered along the central lane that led up to Aslan's tent. The great lion himself was sitting outside it, ready to receive the Witch. I took my place beside him but he barely acknowledged my arrival. The Pevensies lined up at the front of the crowd nearby.

"Jadis, the Queen of Narnia!" A thin voice carried over the noise of the crowd and the White Witch's personal dwarf attendant, the one that had been guarding Edmund, waddled into sight. "Empress of the Lone Islands!" The dwarf was struggling to make himself heard over the jeers of the soldiers, whom Aslan did nothing to silence. In fact, I could hear him growling a little.

The White Witch herself sat in an open sedan chair carried by four Cyclopes. The ivory white dress and her pale skin were a stark contrast to the chair's black color. Although she ignored the boos of the the Narnian army and held herself in a regal manner, I noted that the ice crown she wore had melted into a few short spines.

Aslan stood as the Cyclopes lowered the chair and Jadis stepped down, sweeping her dress behind her. Although she walked toward Aslan, her head turned to glare at Edmund. I clenched my hands into fists and resisted the urge to go stand in front of the younger Pevensie brother.

Then the Witch turned her stare to me and I couldn't help shiver. I instinctively placed a hand in Aslan's mane, the texture and heat giving me comfort. The Witch stopped in the same spot where the Pevensies had been standing just the previous day. She murmured, "So this is the Lady Jenna I've been hearing about."

My grip on Aslan's mane tightened.

"State your business, Jadis," Aslan ordered, a noticeable edge to his voice.

The Witch's eyes flicked over to the lion and she spoke in a clear voice now, "You have a traitor in your midst, Aslan."

Everyone except Aslan looked at Edmund.

"His offense was not against you," Aslan stated.

"Have you forgotten the laws upon which Narnia was built?"

Aslan snarled and the last of the murmuring fell silent. "Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch. I was there when it was written."

"Then you remember well that every traitor belongs to me. His blood is my property."

"Try and take him then," Peter said, unsheathing his sword.

"No, Peter," I hissed.

The Witch seemed amused by Peter's action. "Do you really think that mere force will deny me my right, little king?"

Peter looked a little sheepish but he didn't put away his sword, ignoring my hard look.

"Aslan knows that unless I have blood, as the law demands," the Witch continued, turning around to address the entire camp, "all of Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water."

The crowd grew noisy again and I whispered, "What? Is that true, Aslan?"

The Witch faced Edmund and pointed at him. "That boy will die on the Stone Table, as is tradition." She turned back to Aslan with the shadow of victory on her face. "You dare not refuse me."

"Aslan, no! We can't just give Edmund back to her and let her kill him!" I whispered with fierce anger and fear.

"Hush, Jenna," Aslan whispered back to me, and then declared, "Enough. I shall talk with you alone." He gave me a pointed look: _alone_ meant _alone_.

I nodded and stepped away from Aslan as he turned to lead the White Witch into his tent. She smirked at me as she passed and when her back was turned I stuck my tongue out at her.

I strode over to the Pevensies and muttered, "I hope he doesn't do anything stupid." Then I saw the grim looks on all of the siblings' faces and said, "Don't worry, guys. Aslan isn't going to let the Witch…take Edmund." I put a hand on Edmund's shoulder to reassure him.

"But you heard her," Edmund said. "It's the law, this Deep Magic."

I looked at Susan and she shook her head. Even she couldn't figure out a way out of this one.

Aslan and the White Witch's talk dragged on longer than I expected. After about ten minutes the Pevensies and I decided to sit. There was always a constant buzz as the Narnians discussed the Witch's terms, the laws of Narnia, whether Edmund deserved to be killed or not, and the like. Some decided to sit like us, and others milled about, taking care not to stray too far from Aslan's tent.

The Pevensies and I didn't talk to each other. I wanted to tell them that everything would turn out fine, but even I didn't know that for sure. Edmund pulled at the grass, Lucy looked like she was about to fall asleep, Susan examined some weeds that Edmund had pulled up, and Peter wrung his hands in his lap. I alternated between watching them and watching Aslan's tent, alert for any hint that the two leaders had finished talking.

I was watching Edmund and debating whether or not to stop him from expanding the bare patch of dirt in front of him when I felt a strong signal from the pavilion. I shot to my feet and announced, "They're coming out."

Everyone scrambled to their feet a moment before the tent flaps were thrown back and the White Witch stepped out. She looked at Edmund for a moment as she started toward her party, saying nothing. Aslan exited a moment later and was silent as he also looked at Edmund, but while the Witch's gaze had been cold with disdain his was warm with compassion.

Aslan faced his troops and proclaimed, "She has renounced her claim on the Son of Adam's blood."

Everyone burst into cheering. Peter clapped Edmund on the shoulder and Susan hugged him. "I told you everything would be fine, I told you!" I shouted.

"How do I know your promise will be kept?" the Witch asked over the clamor.

Aslan answered with a long, full roar that spurred another uproar of cheers from the army and made the Witch sit down a little too quickly in her black chair. Aslan held his head high with a smug smile. Lucy and I squashed Edmund between us as we both hugged him.

I rushed over to Aslan and threw my arms around his mane for his own hug. "Thank you, Aslan! I knew you'd find a way."

I felt the lion's head shift under my arms as it dropped. I realized that Aslan looked… _sad_. I let go of him and took a step back. "Aslan? What's wrong?"

He looked at me and his dark eyes almost made my heart break. "Come, we must talk."

I looked back at the Pevensies, who were being surrounded by a massive group of soldiers wishing to congratulate Edmund, and saw Lucy watching us. Her smile faded and I knew she'd seen Aslan's mood. I bit my lip and followed Aslan into his tent.

Aslan rolled up an illuminated scroll that had been laid out on the table and picked it up gently in his mouth to drop it in the trunk next to the table. He knocked the trunk lid closed with a paw and I heard a lock click. He yawned and stretched, sharp claws sliding out of his paws and hooking into the ground for a moment. Then he dropped onto the pile of pillows.

I sat on a cushion near the lion and waited for him to speak. Whatever had happened with the Witch had clearly made a deep impact on him and I didn't want to push him.

At last, Aslan sighed, "Jenna, the Witch was adamant. She would not renounce her claim without some sort of deal."

"The promise she mentioned," I commented.

Aslan nodded. "The only way to save Edmund was to offer a trade."

"A trade?"

"My blood for Edmund's."

"Wait, your blood? But that means…" I trailed off as I ran through the White Witch's words in my head and I gasped, putting my hands to my mouth. "No, Aslan! You can't!" I crawled over to Aslan's side. "We need you! You can't die!"

"Would you have Edmund die instead?"

"No! But, argh!" I slammed my fists into my lap. "Why does anyone have to die?"

"Tomorrow there shall be a battle, and many will die then. Death is inevitable, child."

I wiped away the tears bubbling up in my eyes. "When will you…?"

"Tonight I will go to the Stone Table as the Witch said."

"I'm coming with you then!" I blurted out, even though the idea was absurd.

Aslan shook his head. "No, child, I should do this alone."

"But, but, nobody should be alone when they die, even you. It's too awful. Even if you're slain in battle you're surrounded by your fallen comrades. Please, let me come with you!"

Aslan was quiet as he examined me. "You know I cannot guarantee your safety," he finally said.

I nodded, swallowing back sobs.

"All right then." Aslan lowered his head to his paws. "It…would be nice to have a friendly face there. Now, however, it is time to rest."

Instead of moving to my hammock I curled up right there at Aslan's side. I could hear his great heart beating under my ear as tears dropped onto the lion's fur. The steady rhythm was soothing, and as I drifted off to sleep I tried not to think about how that night that heartbeat would stop.

* * *

 **AN: Sorry this chapter doesn't really have that much but it's a necessary scene, and I wanted to keep all the Stone Table stuff coming up in its own chapter. But can I just say I've kinda fallen in love with Moonshadow even though I haven't really fleshed her out? I made her up on the spot when I realized Jenna needed a teacher and Oreius didn't feel like a good match, and I wish there was more opportunity to develop her more here. Maybe she'll pop up in a future fan fic? ;)**

 **Next chapter it all goes down at the Stone Table! And guess what? I'VE ALREADY WRITTEN IT. I've been a writing machine this past weekend it's been great. So the next chapter should be added sometime this week, probably Thursday or Friday, we'll see how I feel lol.**

 **Thanks for reading, and as always, please feel free to favorite, follow, review, and share with your friends! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

Aslan's legs swung back and forth, the muscles shifting under me, as we traveled through some woods south of the camp to the Stone Table. I sat side-saddle style so that I could lay down on top of him, sinking my face and arms into his mane. With Aslan beneath me and the forest green cloak I'd grabbed out of the clothing trunk on top of me, I was quite warm and comfortable.

Even so, a chill swept over me every time I remembered what would happen tonight.

Aslan and I hadn't spoken a word to each other ever since the great lion nosed me awake in the middle of the night and murmured, "It's time." We cherished each other's company in somber silence, or at least I did, and I hoped that Aslan was also glad for my presence.

We traveled at a slow, steady pace until I felt Aslan pause and say, "Shouldn't you both be in bed?"

I sat up and looked around to see Lucy and Susan step out from behind some trees.

"We couldn't sleep," Lucy replied.

"Please, Aslan, couldn't we come with you, too?" Susan asked.

Aslan sighed. "I would be glad of the extra company for awhile. Thank you."

Susan and Lucy walked up on either side of Aslan and each put a hand on his mane. Lucy looked up at me and I managed a pained smile.

"You shouldn't have come," I whispered.

Susan gave me a questioning look but I shook my head and didn't say another word.

Lucy and Susan walked alongside us until we came to the edge of the trees and Aslan stopped. I could see not too far away a hill topped with amber torchlight.

"It is time," Aslan said. "From here, only Jenna may go with me."

"But Aslan-" Susan started to protest.

"You have to trust me, for this must be done," Aslan said. "Thank you, Susan. Thank you, Lucy. And farewell."

I reached down to squeeze both girls' hands and whispered, "I'll see you in the morning."

Then Aslan started moving again and I was forced to let go. I watched Susan and Lucy turn back to the trees and then faced forward. I leaned down to speak into Aslan's ear and asked, "Aslan, are you sure that everything will be fine?

Aslan just shook his head.

I sat up straight and tried to mentally prepare myself for the night that even Aslan couldn't predict.

The Witch's army, or at least part of it, had gathered on the hill, torches scattered around the crowd. Monsters ranging from ugly ogres to squealing goblins to cackling hags surrounded us as Aslan climbed up a stone staircase built into the hill.

"Aww, look at the little kitty and its baby!"

"Die! Yes, die!"

"What a lovely girl, what a lovely little girl."

"Oh, I'd love to make that one bleed."

I gripped Aslan's mane a little tighter.

Despite the taunts, many of the creatures in Aslan's path hastily scurried away from him. A harpy dared to linger and hiss at Aslan but she flew away at the lion's hard stare.

The Witch herself was standing at the top of the hill, on a great slab of stone. She was no longer wearing white, but a dark gown crowned on one shoulder with what looked like a rooster. She held a dagger that also looked to be made of stone in front of her and I imagined I felt a shiver run through Aslan's muscles.

"Behold," she said as we reached the top of the stairs. "The great lion."

A wave of laughter ran through the crowd and I cringed. The monsters were starting to crowd in on us and my grip on Aslan's mane tightened even more. Aslan snarled as a particularly large minotaur approached us.

"And look," the Witch continued, "he's brought his little pet, his so-called 'ward.' Seize her."

"No! No!" I screamed as two hags grabbed my arms and yanked me off Aslan's back. I'd been clenching his mane so strongly that chunks of hair tore away in my hands as I was pulled down. I struggled against the hags as they hauled me up to stand beside the Stone Table. They forced me to my knees and one of them slapped me across the face, quieting me. My cheek stung where long nails had scratched it. I was starting to doubt my decision to come here with Aslan, but I was still determined to be there for the lion.

"Give me your word that no harm shall come to her," Aslan thundered.

The Witch scrutinized me from the Table and considered Aslan's request. I wasn't sure whether I should try to look brave or terrified, but I didn't think I could manage to hide my fear well enough so I went with terrified.

She turned back to Aslan and answered, "You have my word."

Whether she would keep it was a different story.

The Witch nodded to the minotaur that had approached Aslan and the beast immediately lunged at the lion and knocked him over with his giant battleaxe. I cried out as Aslan collapsed on his side and had the wind knocked out of him. The Witch's dwarf, who Edmund had told us was named Ginarrbrik, snickered and taunted, "Here, kitty, kitty! Do you want some milk?"

"Bind him," the Witch instructed, and a few minions came forward with ties and began to wrap them around Aslan's paws and body.

"Wait!" the Witch snapped when they moved to his head and the soldiers froze. "Let him first be shaved."

Ginarrbrik toddled forward with the knife that once threatened Edmund, grabbed a large tuft of Aslan's mane, and sawed right through it, holding the hair up like a trophy to the approval of the crowd. Then the closest soldiers set in, tearing and cutting away clumps of mane and throwing them into the crowd.

That was when I started to cry.

It wasn't enough for the Witch to kill Aslan. She had to humiliate him, make a show out of it. She had to make him helpless, take away his beautiful mane, the essence of a lion's dignity. I held the tufts of Aslan's hair I had accidentally torn away to my heart, glad to have a piece of the lion with me now.

When the beasts were finished with Aslan's mane, they stepped away to reveal a haphazard blanket of hair. Random patches of hair stuck out every which way and the shorter hair curled into ringlets.

"Bring him to me."

A few Cyclopes grabbed the trailing ends of Aslan's bindings and dragged his limp body up the last few steps and then onto the Stone Table, his paws and muzzle knocking against every edge. He ended up with his back to the Witch and his head pointed right at me.

The Witch thrust out one arm and the crowd immediately fell silent.

I silently begged Aslan to look at me. His eyes were so dull now. I dried my tears with the back of my hand, deciding I'd cried enough and now I needed to be strong.

The sound of wood striking stone broke the silence as the torch-bearing hags surrounding the Stone Table slammed the sticks down in unison. They repeated the motion, setting a steady tempo. The crowd noise started up again, wolves howling and beasts whooping, eager for blood.

At last, the Witch herself approached Aslan and knelt beside him. She reached down and brushed one hand along the lion's ruined mane. Aslan flinched at her touch and he angled his head toward her as I heard her murmur, "You know, Aslan, I'm a little disappointed in you. Did you honestly think by all this that you could save the human traitor? You are giving me your life, and saving no one. So much for love."

Aslan dropped his head again, still refusing to look at me, but I didn't dare call to him lest it draw another strike from my guards. The Witch stood to address her followers, her voice carrying easily over the clamor. "Tonight, the Deep Magic will be appeased!"

Cheers answered her and the hags beat their torches faster.

"But tomorrow," the Witch continued, "we will take Narnia forever!"

At last Aslan's eyes locked on mine and I understood why he'd been so reluctant to look at me.

He was scared.

"In that knowledge, despair…"

I didn't see the Witch raise the knife.

"…and die!"

I didn't see the knife plunge into Aslan's heart.

I saw the way Aslan's body jerked in response, heard the hiccup of pain that brought out my own involuntary cry of anguish.

And then I watched as the light in Aslan's eyes faded.

"The great cat," the Witch proclaimed, "is dead!"

I broke away from the hags holding me and threw myself onto the Stone Table and Aslan's body, sobs spilling out of me and lost in the uproar of the army.

"General," the Witch demanded, "prepare your troops for battle."

I heard a minotaur roar behind me and I looked up at the Witch, who was looking down at her kill and me. "However short it may be," she added.

I tried to think of something brave to say but all that came out was, "You'll never take Narnia."

"Foolish girl," she replied. "My army is more than twice the size of yours. Your leader is dead. But do not worry, Lady Jenna. I will not kill you tonight, but tomorrow, I will see to it that you join your beloved Aslan."

 **xxxxx**

At some point I dropped into a fitful sleep curled up against Aslan's body in the same spot as earlier. The next thing I knew there was a hand shaking my shoulder and I opened swollen eyes to see Lucy standing over me, Susan just behind her. Gray light washed over them.

"I thought you went back to camp." My voice came out hoarse since my throat was raw from crying.

Susan shook her head. "We hid and watched. Jenna, did you know what was going to happen?"

I just nodded.

Lucy climbed up and sat next to me at Aslan's head, pulling out the cordial Father Christmas had given her. I covered it with one hand and shook my head. "It's too late," I told her. "He's gone."

Lucy touched my cheek where the hag had scratched me. "Your face." She pushed the cordial toward me now, and after a moment of hesitation I accepted a drop of the fire-flower juice. A warm, tickling sensation covered my cheek and I ran my fingers over it to find the scratches had disappeared.

Susan climbed up on the other side of Aslan. "He must have known what he was doing."

The three of us hugged each other over Aslan's body as Susan and Lucy wept, while I was too exhausted to cry anymore.

Tiny squeaking caught our attention and we looked up to see several mice scurrying over and around the lion. Susan tried to shoo them away but Lucy stopped her and it registered that the mice were only gathering around the ropes that still bound Aslan. One by one the ropes snapped as the mice chewed through them and then scurried away, allowing us to pull them off of Aslan and smooth out the matted fur.

"We have to tell the others," Susan said.

I nodded in agreement. A battle was coming and the army needed to prepare to fight without their great leader.

"We can't just leave him!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I'll go," I rasped. I cleared my throat and repeated, "I'll go. It's my duty." I stood up and straightened my cloak, pulling the hood up

"Even so it'll take you awhile to get back to camp," Susan said. "They need to know right away, there's no time." She gestured to the east where the horizon was just starting to brighten. Dawn wasn't too far off now and I doubted the Witch was going to wait around to conquer Narnia once and for all.

I surveyed our surroundings and caught sight of some bright blossoms inside the shadowy tree line.

Cherry trees.

I smiled and stated, "The trees."

Lucy's eyes widened. "Like when you went to the camp ahead of us and you sent that flower girl to tell us where'd you gone."

"Exactly," I affirmed. "The dryads can get a message to the camp in no time at all."

I gathered up my skirts and started down the stairs. "I still need to go back, though. As Aslan's ward the army will want to see me there. Will you two be okay?"

Susan held up her bow and nodded. "I think we'll be fine. Everyone should be fighting, so I doubt anyone will come up here." She looked down at Aslan. "We'll figure out what we should do here and then head back."

I nodded and paused to look at Aslan's motionless body one more time before turning and running back into the trees. I came to a stop before the cherry trees I had spotted and called out, "Hello? Dryads? Please, I need your help!"

The cherry blossoms stirred and then a storm of petals detached from the branches of one of the trees to gather in front of me. The dryad readily agreed to serve as messenger to Peter and Edmund, and I asked her to report that Aslan was dead and I was on my way back to camp while Susan and Lucy were staying behind at the Table. The dryad was visibly shaken by the news about Aslan, her petals vibrating in a wave of shock, but she assured me that she would get the job done and get it done quickly.

With a stream of cherry blossom petals floating off into the woods, I started running back to the camp again, checking my position against the eastern horizon every now and then to make sure I stayed on track. I ran until it became difficult to breathe and then I slowed to a speed walk, putting my hand to my side where a stitch had started to pain me. I felt like I was about halfway back to the camp, but I couldn't be sure since it had been so dark when Aslan and I came through and we'd been going at a different pace.

Then I heard hoofbeats and clinking metal coming toward me and Moonshadow, decked out in full armor, appeared out of the trees ahead. She galloped to me, knelt, and held out a hand. "There you are, milady! Come on, I'll take you the rest of the way back to camp."

I clasped her hand and she helped me onto her back. "Thanks, Moonshadow. You got my message then?"

Moonshadow nodded. "The general and the Sons of Adam have gone to check Aslan's tent to see for themselves, and I came out here to ensure you returned unharmed."

Moonshadow made short work of the remaining distance back to camp. She took me straight to Aslan's pavilion. Oreius, Peter, and Edmund were gathered around the table that had previously been in Aslan's tent, maps spread across it.

"Peter, there's an army out there and it's ready to follow you," Edmund was saying as I hopped off Moonshadow. Oreius nodded in greeting but the two Pevensies were focused on their discussion.

"I can't," Peter insisted.

"Aslan believed you could," Edmund replied.

I stepped up to the table. "He's right."

Both boys looked up at me. "Jenna," Peter started, but then changed his mind.

"Aslan is dead," I said. "It's up to you now, Peter."

"Why not you?" he asked.

"Aslan told me that you had to do it. These soldiers believe in the prophecy and so they'll believe in you, just like Aslan did, and just like I do."

"And so do I," Edmund added.

There was a moment of silence and then Peter put on a focused expression and I knew he'd accepted his new role as commander.

"The Witch's army is nearing, sire," Oreius reported. "What are your orders?"

Peter examined the maps and rosters in front of him. "What do we know about the Witch's army?"

"It's big," I answered. "She told me she has over twice our forces. I saw a lot of different beasts at the Stone Table. Harpies, hags, goblins, ogres, dwarves, the lot. Her general is a giant black minotaur."

"That would be General Otmin," Oreius supplied.

"Sounds like we need every advantage we can get then," Peter said. He pointed at a hilly area north of the fords of Beruna on a map of the surrounding area. "So we pick the battlefield, here. If necessary, we can use the rocks to force them into more one-on-one fights."

Peter picked up a page from a list of troops. "Does this say we have a phoenix?"

* * *

 **AN: _has the chapter ready to go_ _says she'll post on a certain day_ _posts almost a week later  
_ I've really gotta stop doing that XD**

 **Well, here it is finally! One of the biggest scenes in the story. I hope I've done it justice. This was a great opportunity to focus on Aslan's character and the relationship that's been established between him and Jenna in just a couple short days. Also, I still cry every time I watch this scene. T_T**

 **Next chapter will be another biggie - BATTLE TIME! But...**

 **I am back at school now, so most of my time is going to be focused on classes and homework and the writing I have to do for that. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, I can finish this by the end of September (so in 1 month). Thank you so much, dear readers, for your continued patience and support. We're so close to the end!**

 **Don't forget to favorite, follow, review, and share! See ya next time! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

Chryssa snorted with anticipation and shook her mane. Her body buzzed with adrenaline under me and I stroked her neck, trying to calm her with quiet murmurs, even though I was just as impatient. The tension of the oncoming battle thrummed through the entire army as soldiers checked and double-checked their weapons, stretched to keep loose, and paced to settle their nerves.

Moonshadow and Edmund stood on either side of me at the front of the secondary unit Peter had stationed up in the rocks. The division was small and consisted mostly of archers, but Peter didn't want to risk either Edmund or me on the frontlines, so he made us the captains of this unit. I objected, of course, but Peter reminded me that the White Witch had basically promised to kill me herself.

"If you're out front with Oreius and me, she'll zero in on you in no time," he'd explained. "You won't stand a chance. You're our last connection to Aslan and it would help morale if you were up in the rocks where our troops can see you."

I couldn't argue with his reasoning so here I was looking down on the vast grassland at the foot of the giant rocky hill Peter had chosen for the battlefield. The majority of the Narnian army were lined up at the bottom of the rocks, waiting for the Witch's army to arrive. Peter sat astride his unicorn on top of a small mound at the head of the army, Oreius at his side.

A sharp scream pierced the sky and a gryphon came soaring toward us. The captain of the gryphons had volunteered to scout out the Witch's army and report back when they were about to advance. He wheeled over the army, greeting my unit before landing on the other side of Peter on the mound where he exchanged words with the commanders.

Edmund fidgeted in his armor and I adjusted my own chest plate for the fiftieth time. Both of us wore open helmets, and my light brown hair was pulled back into a braid. "You nervous?" I asked him.

He looked up at me, his mouth set in a firm line. Philip had turned up lame that morning so the stallion had stayed at camp and Edmund had to fight on foot. "A bit. I can't say I ever imagined I'd be fighting in a battle in a fantasy world."

"No, I can't say that, either," I replied.

Edmund's brow furrowed. "Didn't Aslan prepare you to fight, though?"

I scrambled to cover my slip-up. "I mean, I suppose I just didn't think this was how it would happen, without Aslan and all that."

At that moment a dull rumbling reached us from across the plain. A lone dark figure appeared on a small rise some distance away and raised his head in a savage battle cry that echoed off the rocks, and I recognized it as the call of General Otmin.

Then the White Witch's army came into view.

The army was spread out across the plain and didn't seem to have any organization as the myriad of creatures gathered behind the black minotaur. They all snarled and swung their weapons around, eager for the battle their leader had promised them.

The White Witch herself rode in a silver chariot pulled by two giant polar bears. Instead of her traditional white, though, she wore some sort of golden collar over a chainmail gown.

I clenched the reins so tight that the pressure made Chryssa toss her head and pull on the reins in protest.

The collar was made from the hair shorn from Aslan's mane to make one for the Witch, attached to a golden helmet shaped like a lion's jaw.

"I'm gonna kill her," I swore.

"Join the club," Edmund said through gritted teeth.

The Witch's army halted behind her on the mound and silence fell upon the plain.

Below us, Peter looked up and found Edmund and me on the ridge. Even though he was far away, the question was clear.

 _Are we really going to do this?_

Edmund and I looked at each other, then nodded to Peter.

Time to save Narnia.

Peter turned back around and drew his sword, raising it in the air. The rest of the Narnians below followed suit and the battle horn blew the signal to prepare to charge. A cry went up from our soldiers as they shook their weapons in the air.

General Otmin roared and the Witch's army began their charge. He led part of the army the size of our own forward, leaving the other half and the Witch behind.

I scowled and I hoped that the Witch could feel my fury across the battlefield. _She won't even lead her own army into battle, the coward._

Edmund drew his own sword as Peter didn't react to the army now running toward us. Then Peter swung his sword back and forward again. At the signal, the flock of gryphons gathered behind us at the top of the cliff took to the skies, many with boulders in their talons. Their captain left Peter's side and joined them as they soared toward the Witch's army, releasing their loads as they drew closer and squashing bunches of monsters.

The Witch's army was quick to respond, though, and a gryphon here and there began to tumble out of the sky as her archers let loose. Out of boulders, the gryphons scattered, and we knew it would take a few minutes for them to collect more and drop them on the Witch's reserves. Despite the gryphons' attacks, the Witch's army did not falter in their charge.

I saw Peter and Oreius exchange words, and then Peter raised his sword again, his battle

call ringing loud and clear:

"For Narnia! And for Aslan!"

The unicorn reared and then leapt forward, Oreius a pace behind. Cries of "For Aslan!" trickled back through the army, and the charge began.

Chryssa snorted and skipped back and forth, anxious to join the forces below. I held her back with a firm grip. "Not yet, Chryssa. Don't worry, we'll have our turn."

We watched as the two armies hurtled toward each other. Our Narnian army formed an inverted V behind Peter and Oreius while the Witch's army formed a staggered frontline. When the two forces were no more than fifty yards away from each other the centaur spearmen at the front of the Narnian charge lowered their long weapons, and our leopards began to pull in front of the rush, with white tigers coming out from the Witch's army in response.

Twenty yards.

Peter lowered the visor of his helmet.

Ten.

I fought the urge to shut my eyes.

The big cats' flung themselves at each other with fangs bared and vicious caterwauls.

Then the armies collided.

Monsters were flung back by the centaurs' spears. Metal crashed together as soldiers simply slammed into each other before properly sparring. Mere moments had passed before the screams drifted up to the cliff.

I kept my eyes on Peter as the unicorn took him untouched into the Witch's army. He hesitated to swing his sword at a few open targets but at last he slashed at a minotaur, opening the beast up across the gut and knocking him into the ground. After that first strike I didn't see any more delays in Peter's sword whenever it met a new target.

The Witch's army was vicious, to put it lightly. General Otmin swung his weapon with a speed that didn't seem to fit his size. The dwarves, hardened from life underground, held up better than I expected. For each one of their numbers one of our soldiers cut down, they matched the casualty. A few of the gryphons returned to help pick off a few enemies, but it was difficult for them to do much without risking injury to our own forces.

Duels lasted mere seconds, and it didn't take as long expected for the numbers of the initial charges to fall by half on each side. But then gradually there was more red than black on the field, and the Witch's soldiers' behavior changed. They started acting a bit more cautiously instead of attacking the Narnians recklessly. They hadn't expected the Narnian army to be so strong, and our forces actually started to push them back a little.

The Witch seemed to notice the change as well. She flicked the reins and urged her polar bears forward, her reserves following, fresh and ready to reinforce their comrades.

Peter turned to look up at our station on the cliffs and swung his sword in a sweeping motion.

"The phoenix!" I cried.

Moonshadow poked an arrow into one of the lanterns from Aslan's tent and the flame inside jumped onto the point.

"Fire!" Edmund ordered.

The centauress raised her bow and shot the arrow high into the sky over the two armies. A few moments after it was loosed the arrow's tip sparked and then in a burst of flames a crimson bird had replaced the arrow. It circled and dived toward the battlefield from one side. More flames began to flicker around its feathers, and then in the next moment the phoenix itself was made of fire. It streaked along the ground in front of the Witch and her reserves, lighting a wall of fire between them and the Narnian army.

Cheers went up from our soldiers as the Witch's army stopped at the fire. Beaver, outfitted with his own little suit of armor and bow, pumped his fist and shouted, "Yes!" from his spot next to Edmund. Peter even raised his visor as he stared at the Witch from behind the flames.

Our enthusiasm was short-lived. A blue burst of magic from the Witch's wand snuffed out the fire and she resumed leading her army through the wisps of smoke that remained.

The Narnian horn trumpeted the signal to fall back as Peter replaced his visor and turned around to lead the soldiers back to the rocks where Edmund and I waited with our own reserves. Combining that with what remained from the initial charge, we barely had enough to match maybe two-thirds of what was left of the Witch's army.

I yanked at Chryssa's reins to turn her around and told Edmund, "I'm going to lead some soldiers down to meet them. You got the archers?"

Edmund nodded. "Go, go!"

I beckoned to Moonshadow and we plunged down the ridge, gathering the first soldiers we saw as we went. Some of the ones from the charge had already reached the rocks, the Witch's army not far behind. Moonshadow and I passed by on either side of Peter, whom I vaguely heard shout my name. When we rounded the curve and saw the Witch's army reach the base of the rocks I drew my rapier. A moment later, the soldiers in front fell as Edmund signaled the archers to fire.

I yelled, "For Narnia!" and then my squad was on top of the Witch's monsters.

I blocked the sword of an ogre that swung at me immediately, my arm straining under the weight of the ogre's muscles. Chryssa moved me away from the ogre and then reared, lashing out with her front hooves and catching the ogre in the chest. When she landed back on all fours my muscles acted before my brain and my rapier plunged through the ogre's chest.

I pulled out my blade right away and stared at the bloodstains. They were darker than human blood. They reminded me of a muddy swamp, the kind that people go into and never return, lost in the murky waters. The stained silver wavered as my entire body started to shake from shock.

"Lady Jenna!" The next thing I knew, Moonshadow was next to me again, pulling Chryssa away from the commotion and behind some rocks. She grabbed me by the shoulders and said, "Lady Jenna, you can't let a spot of blood get to you. There's a whole lot more than that out there and we don't have the time or men for you to falter." Her hands moved to mine and her voice softened. "We need you, my lady. You've done well in training and you just proved your worth with that foul beast. You can do this."

I stared at the centauress for a moment, looked back at my bloody rapier, and then nodded. I swallowed and with the motion I imagined my fear being forced down deep within me, to a place where it could not inhibit me from protecting the Narnians. They needed me.

Aslan needed me.

A chilling whinny that made Chryssa neigh in alarm caught our attention and we looked over to see Peter's unicorn collapse with an arrow in its side, throwing Peter to the ground.

"Peter!" I shouted. Chryssa cantered over to him and I slid off her back before she came to a stop, tumbling next to Peter. His helmet had come off with the fall but he looked unharmed. "You okay?" I asked.

He nodded. "Just a little winded."

Chryssa nudged me and I ordered her, "Go, stay close to Moonshadow." She tossed her head defiantly, but cantered off to rejoin the centauress.

Peter and I helped each other up and looked to see the Witch rounding a bend in the rocks in her chariot, her gaze fixed on the two of us. I instinctively grabbed Peter's arm for comfort, suppressed fear threatening to rise back up within me.

There was a rough roar behind us and then Oreius and a rhino galloped past. Peter ordered, "Stop!" but they continued to charge toward the White Witch.

"What do they think they're doing? There are too many," I said.

Peter said nothing.

We watched as the rhino took the lead, knocking down a few ogres and minotaurs before being brought down by a crew of nasty ankle-slicers. Oreius leapt over it, knocking away minotaurs and cyclopes and ogres, never veering from his course. General Otmin lumbered into his path and Oreius raised both swords he was wielding, ready for the minotaur's axe and not even slowing when the beast grabbed onto his flank. Oreius elbowed him to try and loosen the minotaur's grip, and then twisted around and sank both swords into Otmin's back. The great black minotaur finally let go and collapsed, unmoving.

Oreius drew his greatsword now as he reached the Witch's chariot, knocking down a smaller minotaur like it was a ragdoll with one stroke. He leapt over the polar bears, which tried to claw at him, and swung at the Witch's head, but she leaned back and dodged his blade. Oreius landed just behind the chariot, quickly regaining his footing and lunging at the Witch again. She parried his attack, spun her wand around, and jabbed at his exposed torso.

"No!" I cried out.

There was a burst of blue light, and when it faded, Orieus had turned to stone, his sword still raised above him.

I put my hand to my mouth and tried to fight down the fear again, without as much success. How could we fight the Witch's magic? My magic was no good without books, and the closest thing to that was the scrolls in Aslan's tent way back at camp.

But I didn't have any more time to think as a cyclops finally noticed the two humans standing out in the open. He bellowed and charged Peter and me, lifting his battle-axe. Peter pushed me behind him and caught the cyclops's axe with his shield and thrust with his sword, but only managed to slice the monster's shoulder. I dashed around to the cyclops's flank and sliced across its side with my rapier, making it roar in pain and swing its axe wildly at me. I ducked to avoid the attack but now Peter had a clear opening to stab the cyclops in the back, kicking it to the ground next to me.

We nodded to each other and took up fighting stances back-to-back as more of the Witch's army attacked us. I would parry and feint and knock our foes off-balance, then rotate with Peter who would strike the killing blow. I did my own fair share of stabbing monsters' hearts and slicing their throats open, though. More and more blood coated my rapier, and I started to grow numb to the sight of it.

I'd stepped away from Peter a little when the hag jumped on me, knocking off my helmet. I spun and sliced behind me with my rapier, slashing something, hopefully flesh. The hag hissed in my ear and let go and I spun to face her. She held two daggers, one in each hand. I adjusted my grip on my rapier as we circled each other.

"I recognize you," she crooned. "The great lion's pet."

I didn't reply.

"I remember how it felt when my nails tore your cheek," she continued, cackling, "how your skin peeled and the blood welled."

I put a hand to my cheek, images of the previous night flashing through my head: the fire, the humiliation, the pain, the tears.

"Oh, but it looks like you're all patched up, made yourself pretty again." The hag's face stretched into a wicked grin and she twirled her daggers. "I'll just have to fix that."

The light going out of Aslan's eyes.

The hag and I sprang at each other at the same time, both screaming. I caught one of her daggers with my rapier but she sliced my arm with the other and I almost dropped my blade. I danced away from her, trying to flank her but she was lithe and followed my movements more easily than the cyclops. I feinted to her right and she took the bait, and I flicked my rapier to strike her left wrist, knocking the dagger out of that hand and grabbing her other wrist with my free hand. But she twisted herself and my arm with her, forcing me to let go with a yelp. I kicked away her dagger before she could retrieve it and slashed at her again, but she easily dodged and jabbed at my torso, finding an opening in my chestpiece and nicking my left side. The hag followed up with a flurry of jabs and I tried to step away, but she didn't let up as I blocked as many as I could, scratches multiplying on my arms and a couple on my cheeks.

Then she punched me.

The blow caught me completely by surprise as she struck my jaw and knocked me down to the ground. The hag pounced on me in an instant, tearing my rapier from me and using her legs to pin down my arms as she straddled my chest. She clasped her free hand around my throat and slightly squeezed, making me cough. The tip of her dagger played around my face like an icicle tickling my skin and hair.

"Such pretty green eyes," she murmured, the dagger outlining my eyes, which were wide with terror. That wicked grin returned. "I think I'll cut them out for myself."

The hag raised her dagger and I shut my eyes and tried to turn my face away but the hand around my throat stopped me with a sharp squeeze.

Suddenly there was a shrill cry from the hag and the weight on top of me disappeared. I coughed and gasped as my throat was released, putting my own hands to it. I opened my eyes to see Edmund standing over me, the hag lying motionless on the ground a few feet away.

"You all right?" he asked as he held out a hand.

I took it and stood up, wavering a bit as adrenaline tried to combat shock. "Yeah, thanks. You saved my life."

Edmund picked up my rapier and handed it to me. "Well, you saved my life getting me away from the Witch. Figured I'd return the favor."

I smirked at him. "So, if I hadn't saved you, then you would've let that hag kill me?"

"What? No!" Edmund sputtered. "Of course not!"

I lightly nudged his shoulder. "Relax, I'm teasing, I know you're not that much of an ass."

Suddenly the hag appeared behind Edmund, eyes dark and daggers raised. I shouted, "Watch out!" as I shoved Edmund away and stabbed the hag in the gut, my rapier going through her halfway. The daggers dropped from the hag's hands and blood trickled out of her mouth as I pushed her off the blade and she crumpled to the ground.

This time, she didn't get up.

* * *

 **AN: HOLY COW ANOTHER CHAPTER WOULD YA LOOK AT THAT  
So yes I finally got around to working on this story again! I know I left y'all hanging at an awful point, I'm sorry about that. Anyway, the battle has begun! I hope I did a decent job with the action scenes, I don't have as much experience with that kind of stuff. This is just part one of the battle, part two will be the next chapter, which will _hopefully_ be out within a couple days (we all know how I am with those kinds of "promises" lol).**

 **On another note: I recently made a deviantART account and I'll be posting some of my original writing on there so if you're interested feel free to check it out! I'm _stellatrix13_ there as well.**

 **Favorite, follow, REVIEW, and share! Thanks for reading, love y'all. :)**


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